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General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, is appealing to all members of the opposition party pouring invectives on the Chairman of the Peace Council, Rev. Professor Emmanuel Asante, for his condemnation of Ex-President John Dramani Mahama recent "boot-for-boot" comments to ceasefire.

According to the NDC Chief Scribe, his assessment of the Peace Council Chairman before the 2012 elections till date, shows that he [Rev. Prof. Asante] is among the few impartial and even-handed personalities in the country.

Speaking on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Asiedu Nketia says he was thus taken aback when news broke out that the Chairman of the Peace Council had verbally attacked former President Mahama.

However, he said, upon careful scrutiny of the Professor’s statement, and knowing him for his sense of nobility, the NDC National Executive said, he believes Prof Asante was ambushed by the media to share his views on Mr Mahama's comments without having the full facts at his disposal.

“After the brouhaha surrounding his comment on Mahama’s “boot for boot” statement, I was pondering over what exactly Prof. Asante said and I realised that all the insults hurled on the Chairman of Peace Council could have partly been the fault of the media because he was reported to have insulted Mahama to apologise for his comment.

“ . . and now, seeing the same Peace Council condemning the violence in the by-election, I wondered how the same Chairman at one point insulted Mahama and at another point condemned the brutality in the by-election?” he enquired.

The former President, after some members of the NDC were shot at La Bawaleshie during last Thursday's Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election, warned the ruling NPP saying 'we are going to match them boot for boot'.

“We are not going to joke in 2020, and I’m sounding a warning to the NPP – we are going to match them boot for boot . . . I want to sound a caution that NDC has a revolutionary root and when it comes to unleashing violence, no one can beat us to that. It is just that we are mindful of this country’s democracy and that is why we must be the first to respect it. That is why we are acting as a party that is docile and respecting the rule of law. But if we believe that the government cannot protect our people and we believe that the government is using its vigilante groups and illegal forces to intimidate and harass and injure our people, then we may have to advise ourselves.”

Hours after his comments, Rev. Prof. Asante is reported to have reacted thus; “if he (Mahama) said that, I would want to say that President Mahama, with all humility, I will plead with him to apologise to the nation. In making that statement, he has really created fear in the hearts of people and it’s not just President Mahama I will say this to, I want to say this to all our leaders, people we are looking up to us in this nation; that under such circumstances, one would expect that they will be the voice of wisdom, a voice that will calm tension, a voice that will help Ghanaians to be able to say: Indeed, we have leaders. So, please let’s be very careful about these things that we say.”

But Mr Asiedu Nketia does not want the Chairman of the Peace Council hanged. He told Kwame Nkrumah Tikesie in an interview why.

“ . . I want to believe that he had not heard the full tape of Mahama's comments because it was the host who asked him a question as to what Mahama is purported to have said and he [Prof. Asante] responded saying ‘if you say that is what he said then...’and so if you check that interview, it was not an official statement he has issued; either in his name or in the name of Peace Council. It was an interview he granted and someone picked it and made a headline of it as if it is the official statement of Peace Council,” he assessed.

He further added that were it not for this unfortunate error, "I can boldly say he is one of the very few people in this country who are unprejudiced and fair,” he therefore pleaded with NDC faithful not to take Rev. Prof Asante on "based on this mistake.”