Desperate NDC Supports Akamba...

The Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Joseph Dindiok Kpemka, has questioned the moral basis on which the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has strongly supported Joshua Akamba, an aspiring national organiser of the opposition party, for filming a group of students at Tempane Senior High School and inciting them to hoot at President Nana Akufo-Addo.

Mr. Akamba, who was recently on a campaign visit to the Upper East Region, is seen in a video interacting with students of Tempane Senior High School and instigating them to hoot at President Nana Akufo-Addo and Mr. Pkemka, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tempane. The said video has since gone viral on the various social media platforms.

The video captured the students complaining bitterly to Mr. Akamba about their living conditions in the school, and congestion in the various dormitories leading to the outbreak of bed bugs, which, he Mr. Akamba, attributed to the introduction of the Free Senior High School programme implemented by the Akufo-Addo-led administration.

While many well-meaning Ghanaians have condemned the action of Mr. Akamba, most executives of the NDC and former President John Mahama have strongly backed Mr. Akamba for what they claimed was exposing the predicaments of the students, and urged the government to fix them.

But, addressing the media at Tempane, Mr. Kpemka condemned the action of Mr. Akamba and advised the NDC and its leadership to do same, rather than back him.

“…the said video which, has since gone viral, contains a message which can only be charitably described as inciting, insulting and a conduct unbecoming of an aspiring National Organiser.”

Again, in the video, Akamba points at one of the girls dormitories with boxes packed outside, and urges the students to vote against the sitting President and Member of Parliament in 2020, for being the cause of the students’ deplorable living conditions in the school.

He also told the students to vote for the National Democratic Congress in 2020 to help resolve their problems.

At a press conference, the Tempane Member of Parliament, flanked by some members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), called on the National Democratic Congress to desist from condoning the negative action of Mr. Joshua Akamba, and rather assess the video from a nationalistic view and consider what it could cause among students in the school.

Ever since the video was released, the majority of Ghanaians have condemned the conduct of Mr. Akamba in no uncertain terms, and called on him to apologise, but he would not budge. However, members of the National Democratic Congress continue to support this reprehensible conduct and erroneously referred to it as free speech.

“In fact, it was an abuse of the rights of the under-aged children, who Mr. Akamba took advantage of. What is the NDC supporting? That we should go into schools as and when we desire and incite students against the president?” Mr. Kpemka asked.

He dismissed claims by Mr. Akamaba that it was the students who stopped him when he was passing by the school, as he described his claims as palpable falsehood meant for propaganda purposes.

Taking journalists round ongoing projects at the school, Mr. Kpemka said the school, which was established in 1998, had its infrastructure expanded under the previous and current NPP administrations, rather than the NDC’s.

“The government of former President Kufuor and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) provided the following, 12-unit classroom storey block. A storey building administration block and a storey boy’s dormitory block and the current structure being used as a dining hall. In addition, the government of former President Kufuor renovated the existing classroom blocks at the time.

Additionally, the District Assembly last year awarded a three-unit classroom block to augment the existing structure. The three projects are at various stages of completion,” Mr. Kpemka explained.

“The only dormitory block which was initiated by the NDC was abandoned for close to a year before the NPP came to power. The GETFund [Ghana Education Trust Fund] has since paid the said contractor, and work is progressing steadily. Indeed, I have had to personally guarantee for a company to advance roofing sheets to the contractor on credit basis to roof the dormitory to enable the supervising engineer to raise a certificate for the completion of the project.

“The NDC’s eight years in power witnessed virtually nothing being done about the infrastructure in the school, and same party has moral questions to answer in respect of neglect of the school. Besides, government recently fumigated all schools including, this,” he further revealed.