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General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has stopped short of criticizing the former Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor following her recent ethnocentric comments on the premises that he does not have detailed information on the former minister's actual remarks.

According to the outspoken politician, it is not his style to comment on issues which he has little or no knowledge about, and that principle applies in the Dzifa Attivor case.

The former minister was in the news a couple of weeks ago for all the wrong reasons when reportedly incited tribal sentiments whiles attempting to convince Voltarians to fully partake in the on-going limited registration to retain the NDC in power.

Until she impressed on the electorate in the Volta Region to vote for the NDC on a campaign platform, since a vote for the NPP would mean a jail term for all NDC ministers, Mrs Attivor was almost forgotten and resting in solitary confinement after her resignation.

But a statement attributed to her during the launch of a group, 'Ketu South for Fifi and Mahama', at Wodoaba in the Ketu South District in the Volta Region, attracted a barrage of attacks on her, even from her own party.

Quick reactions came from the National Peace Council, former President Jerry John Rawlings, the Volta and Greater Accra regional branches of the NDC, among other groups and personalities.

She is reported to have told the party members that the fate that befell some NDC top guns from the region still held true for any Ewe in the current government and that what stood between her and prison was the Volta Regional vote.

“I want to remind you that it is your vote that will decide if Fifi Kwetey and I will be prosecuted and put behind bars or not,” she reportedly said.

Pointing to the record of the NPP government between 2001 and 2008, Mrs Attivor said the NPP targeted only members of her ethnic group for prosecution, citing the imprisonment of the late Victor Selormey, a former Deputy Minister of Finance, and Mr Dan Abodakpi, a former Minister of Trade, who were both incarcerated for causing financial loss to the state.

Asked for his opinion on the utterances of the former Transport minister, Asiedu Nketiah said “I am not used to commenting on issues without listening to the full statement; I don’t comment on paraphrased issues”.

“It has always been my policy to comment on detailed information and not on brief information and that explains why I said people should weigh her statement of claim with the evidence she has provided to ascertain whether she was wrong or not because I have not heard her full statement”, he revealed on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show.

“I never said Dzifa Attivor has done well regarding what she said; I said she has backed her claim with evidence and so people should weigh her evidence in congruent with her claim and then ascertain the truth or otherwise of her claim”.

“It is when you weigh her claim together with her evidence before you can pass your judgement. We don’t have to haste to criticise someone because the person has made a statement without listening to the full statement”.

“If it is true that Nana Addo’s attitude shows he discriminates against Voltarians, the evidence of Attivor is there to compare as she mentioned some names from Volta region to buttress her claim; people should compare if it is true, then Dzifa has done no wrong with her comment”, he added.

Despite refusal to criticise Dzifa Attivor’s comment, the NDC Chief Scribe implored Ghanaians to accept the statement issued by the NDC founder, former President J.J Rawlings, condemning Attivor.

“So those who think Dzifa Attivor goofed have received response from our founder saying she went wrong with her statement. This is the kind of leadership we were expecting to see in Nana Addo that he will be first to condemn what Dr Bawumia said”, he asserted.

Mr Asiedu Nketiah further indicated he has not heard the full audio of Dr Bawumia's alleged religious imbalance at the Presidency comments and so cannot offer an opinion on the subject.

“At times, most of the heated arguments in the country are caused by the media as they sometimes twist people’s statement to a certain direction. Per the twisted statement, it misleads people to give wrong assessment of the case, making people engage in unnecessary argument after reading the full statement. I have come up with my own policy that before I comment on any case, I have to listen fully to the statement and then give my views”, he stated.