The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused some elements of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of masterminding the purported attack and seizure of state institutions by some youth.
According to Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, the fact that the opposition NDC oppressed NPP members and sympathisers in the past should not be the motivation for their supporters to also follow that wrongful act because the NPP has a good reputation to protect.
“The NDC has actually divided themselves into two and half of them have turned themselves into NPP members destroying state properties and attacking themselves and have intentionally accused us of committing such heinous crime.
“If they were able to attack us when their party won 4 years, it does not mean we will do same. We have a reputation to protect even when we are in power now” he said on an Accra based Okay FM.
Since the declaration of the results of the 2016 presidential and parliamentary results, some youth have allegedly attacked their political opponents, while others have attempted to take over state properties.
There have also been instances when such attacks, including causing harm to political opponents and breaking into state property, have led to reprisal attacks.
Some of the facilities which have been taken over include toll booths on highways, toilet facilities, toll collection by metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies at markets and lorry stations, among others.
A number of people have been arrested in relation to such illegal actions, with some facing court actions, while others are being investigated for their involvement in acts of vandalism or attacks.
According to Mr Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, the police should rather go after NDC supporters because they are responsible for the attacks and not the NPP stressing that NPP members have not taken over public office.
He said though he understands the pain NPP supporters went through in 2009, for the sake of their party’s reputation the supporters should remain calm and not retaliate if attacked.
