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Deputy General Secretary for the National Democractic Congress, Mr. Koku Anyidoho, has hit back at the Moderator of the Presby Church, Professor Emmanuel Martey, for claiming that President John Dramani Mahama has deployed a distraction approach because of his inability to solve the ‘dumsor’ problem.

During the recent State of the Nation Address, President Mahama announced that he would not allow Ghana to be divided on religious backgrounds and for this reason; would ensure national cohesion is upheld.

His comments were linked to the recent debate over whether to allow Muslim women wear their hijab at workplaces and the general rights of Muslim students in missionary schools.  

The Presby Moderator, who also doubles as Chairman of the Christian Council, accused the president of stoking a fictional “war” between Christians and Muslims and asked him to focus on solving the worsening power crisis.

“Let me say it here and now. If there are any reporters; you see, I’m the chairman of the Christian council; I have not spoken because a wise person does not speak fast. You study all the situations before you speak. There is no fight between Christians and Muslims in this country.

“If there is a seeming war, some people have created it and it’s the politicians. The politicians have created this to divert attention from the problems in this country. Look, the whole of last week on the radio, everywhere, people were not talking about ‘dumsor’; they were talking about Christians and Muslims.

“This is the strategy of the politician to divert attention so that the main problems of the country, we forget it. But let me tell you, we’ll not forget it. We’ll keep on saying: ‘Fix the ‘dumsor’ now now now.’ Listen, Ghana is not a big country to fix this problem. In four months you can solve it; at most in six months…If I were in charge, within three months I will solve the problem… Look at the loans we are taking; this is a crisis, why can’t we use the loans to fix it? Then you tell us you will fix it, when?” Prof Martey quizzed as he delivered a sermon at Grace Presbyterian Church Akyem Old Tafo in the Eastern region at the weekend.

But his remark has elicited a rather sharp riposte from Mr. Koku Anyidoho, who believes the man of God is practicing politics behind the pulpit.  “This business where Professor Martey is trying to do politics behind the pulpit is unacceptable”, he warned on Peace FM during the station's "Midday News".

According to him, Prof. Martey is behaving like life must come to a standstill because the nation has been plagued by erratic load shedding.  Quite sarcastically, the Deputy General Secretary wondered if "because of dumsor, Prof. Martey is trying to say we shouldn’t urinate, eat and talk about other issues?”

Mr. Anyidoho added that on the very day President Mahama stood before Parliament and addressed the nation, he did not break any constitution provision by touching on the likely religious conflict.

"Prof. Martey should use his celestial decree to solve Ghana’s energy crisis if he thinks he can be of help to the nation," he counseled the Man of God.