The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says if President Mahama had bothered to read the Constitution, he would have apprised himself of the fact that the President of the Republic does not have the power to destool a Chief.
Nana Akufo-Addo was responding to comments made by President Mahama, whilst campaigning in Suhum, that “Nananom, if he (Akufo-Addo) becomes President and you criticize him, he will destool you.”
These remarks by President Mahama, according to the NPP flagbearer, point to the fact that the President has no campaign message, and has resorted to the politics of scaremongering and untruths in his bid for re-election.
“Does our President understand the laws governing our country? Has he bothered to read our Constitution? No President has the power to destool a chief.
Ghana has gone past the era where a sitting President could destool a Chief. Judicial Committees of Traditional Councils are the only ones who can destool a chief, and not a President,” the NPP flagbearer noted.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, as far back as the 60’s, his father, then Chief Justice Edward Akufo-Addo, as Chair of the 1969 Constitutional Commission, enshrined in the 1969 Constitution that ‘The institution of Chieftaincy is guaranteed under the Constitution’, a provision which subsequent Constitutions have incorporated.
This, the NPP flagbearer explained, is the reason why Chiefs are debarred from engaging themselves in partisan politics, and, at the same time, governments debarred from meddling in chieftaincy affairs.
Thus, as President, “you should be abreast with the Constitution of the Republic, and have it at your fingertips. President Mahama can’t even read and understand the Constitution. He just gets up and makes unfortunate comments.”
Akufo-Addo explained that, “I have so much respect for the Chieftaincy institution. My ancestry, including my late grandfather, the Okyenhene, Nana Ofori Atta I, and my own mother, who became the queen mother of Kyebi, means I have respect for the institution. I am not the one coming to disrespect them.”
The NPP flagbearer continued, “He (President Mahama) says when I become President, I am going to drive away Muslims, residents in Zongos, amongst other things.
He will never say to the people what his vision for them is or his record. Even at the launch of the NDC manifesto, all he (President Mahama) did was to talk about me. He had to be prompted before remembering that he was to talk about the contents of his manifesto,” he added.
Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his belief that recent utterances by President Mahama, coupled with his actions and inactions over the last 8 years, point to a President who appears to have little understanding of democracy.
The NPP flagbearer noted that comments by President Mahama, to the effect that continually changing governments for new ones stall development, is another case in point.
"If changing governments was bad, why did he and his party agitate for the changing of the NPP government in 2008, which was doing much better than the current NDC government?
Changing government was good for him in 2008, but when the time has come for Ghanaians to change government in 2016, it's now a bad thing", Akufo-Addo said
The NPP flagbearer explained that it was for a good reason why Ghana's Constitution directed that elections be held every 4 years, affording the electorate the opportunity to review the record of the incumbent and, if dissatisfied, bring in a government that will do a job for the wellbeing of the citizenry.
Nana Akufo-Addo made this known on Thursday, November 3, 2016, whilst campaigning in the Assin Central constituency, on the last day of his 3-day tour of the Central Region.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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Your government destooled Yaa Naa and sent him to his grave, right in my village there similar case, the chief shot dead by police and replaced by another chief so destooling chiefs by government is not new and the chiefs know what Mahama is saying. Who destooled or eliminated Adams Mahama your party chairman? When you Nana said from day one that you don't like Kwabena Agyapong and Afoko even before they were elected what happened? where are they now? a dictator can do everything so destooling a chief is the easiest thing to do by any government and the chiefs know that. Trying to hind behind law to say you can not destool chiefs is just for the birds.
Hahahaaaa, Nana you do all, infact you have made my day. No wonder Mahama is still a baby.
Governments can do more than just distooling. Who killed Yaa Naa???? It is still not known for certain but we can see clearly the political divide on this so Nana should get real and come again
nana! YOU DO ALLLLLLLLLLLLL you always speak like a STATEMAN. dont let dis clueless propagandists distract you. This is your NANA
@ Ziga, Mahama is drawing our economy back when we now have many more people accessing potable water than anytime in the history of our country? NHIS registrants and users is at an unprecedented high level. Life expectancy has also increased, with maternal mortality and child mortality reducing. These happened because of increased in health infrastructure and service delivery across the country. Ghana's economy is backward when we have more roads built to open up the rural areas to markets for better economic growth and you call that backward? Maybe some of you live in Accra or Kumasi only. But walk around and look at your neighborhood, have new roads not been built? Those of us at Spintex have two new roads built to ease traffic flow in and out of Spintex, and you call that backward? Sometimes I wonder whether people hear themselves when they talk. Growing the economy without distributing resources to bring up undeveloped areas is nothing. Ensuring that the entire nation is receiving its fair share of the national cake is what we need now....whoever delivers that is the person I will vote for. We're watching
These NDC apologists surprise me! Nana is divisive? Because the party suspended your moles? And yet you just expelled over 30 people from your party and you say you NDC are not divisive? Where is the founding father of NDC? Where is your mother Nana Konadu? Why are so many people defecting from NDC? Please give us a break,we laugh enter ballot box.
Nana baba. It's possible under you because you are DIVISIVE. Common criticism you can't take #RetireNana@72 #Agenda2020 #NoAbaabas3 #JMToaso #UsainBoltVictory
8 yrs of this clueless, Incompetent and Greedy NDC is enough. Ghana deserves better
Nana & bawmia hv the brains to lead ghana. Mahama's brains are in his anusss, hence our fokkked up economy. We can all see tha mahama is ***barred word***-for-brains & we shall sack him & never let him come near flagstaff hse
If you don't fear Nana Addo who else can you be a fraid in Ghana. The man is wicked and vindictive such that if you are not for him then you are his enemy. And once an enemy then you're a threat and he will surely eliminate you. That is what mahama meant.