Ahead of the first Town Hall Meeting to be addressed by President John Evans Atta Mills, the Northern Regional Secretary of the NDC, Alhaji Imaro Farrouk, has assuaged fears that members of his party are ganging up against activists of the opposition NPP party who will be attending today’s forum in Tamale.
President John Evans Atta Mills
“I can state categorically that we are not ganging up in Tamale against NPP members and sympathizers who will be participating in the Town Hall Meeting,” affirmed Alhaji Imaro Farrouk.
According to him, members of the NDC are rather excited that the President’s first Town Hall Meeting is taking off in Tamale. He went on to add that President Mills is somebody they respect and love and will not do anything detrimental to disrupt his efforts to bring governance closer to the ordinary people of this country.
The Northern Regional Secretary of the NDC made these remarks on Citi FM Eye Witness programme last Monday. He was reacting to claims by NPP that NDC activists are massing up to intimidate and manhandle NPP supporters who will dare come to the Town Hall Meeting and ask the President questions.
“It is unfortunate that NPP members within the Tamale Metropolis are raising such wild allegations, and I want to affirm that we are not going to do any such thing,” stated the NDC Regional Secretary.
Supporters of the NDC, he stated, have been educated and re-oriented on the significance of the forum — which aim is to promote democracy at the grassroots — and therefore “nobody will come there to do anything stupid.”
“Our party supporters have been sensitized and re-oriented on the forum and I can assure you that nobody will come there to misbehave,” assured Mr Imaro Farrouk.
According to him, supporters and members of the NDC in Tamale see the forum as an opportunity by their government to disseminate information to the ordinary Ghanaians who voted the party into power, and more so to learn from them what their plights are.
Continuing, the NDC Regional Secretary intimated that the security agencies in the area are on top of the issue and would act professionally to avert any possible disturbances amongst the two main political parties.
“Moreover the security agencies are on top of the issue and will make adequate security arrangements to prevent any conflict between them and the NPP,” Mr Imaro Farrouk asserted.
However, the Regional Secretary of the NPP, Mr Faisal, who disagreed with his colleague politician, insisted that they are privy to information that NDC elements in Tamale were covertly and deliberately planning to attack them because they will be presenting dissenting views at the forum.
“We have firm belief and are reliably informed that some NDC activists are ganging up not only to stifle dissenting views at the forum but more importantly to brutally attack NPP members who will be participating in the forum,” stressed Mr Faisal. Against this background, Mr Faisal urged the security agencies to ensure maximum security to avert any clash between the two parties.
“It is advisable for the security agencies to ensure maximum security to ward off any bloodbath incident between the two parties,” warned the NPP Regional Secretary.
He noted that there have been constant and deliberate attempts by NDC members in Tamale to use its numbers and influence to brutalize NPP supporters. He buttressed this point by disclosing how he was roughly treated by NDC members in January this year at an intra-party meeting organized by the Electoral Commission.
The Northern Regional Security Commander, ACP Awuni, on his part, gave the assurance that security would be beefed up in Tamale to avoid any clashes.
“I will make sure that enough personnel are deployed to Tamale to maintain law and order,” ACP Awuni firmly assured.
He added: “I am prepared to protect everybody who will be present at the forum and not a particular group of people” ACP Awuni further stated
On the Chereponi bye-election, the Regional Security Commander disclosed that his outfit would beef up security in all the identified 19 flashpoints in the Constituency to ensure that the election is held in a peaceful environment.
BY ATO KEELSON
