NDC Storms Police Headquarters in Support of Chairman Ampofo

A PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE INVITATION OF THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF THE NDC, MR. SAMUEL OFOSU AMPOFO BY THE GHANA POLICE SERVICE.*

03/03/19

Good afternoon Ladies and gentlemen of the media. Thank you for responding to our invitation at such short notice. The Greater Accra Regional Secretariat of the NDC has been informed that our National Chairman, Hon. Ofosu Ampofo has been asked to report to the Police CID tomorrow, Monday 4th March 2019. We are further informed that the invitation is in respect of a recording which was splashed on some pro NPP networks claiming the voice on it is that of Chairman Ofosu Ampofo. We are also aware that Hon. Bryan Acheampong, the man who organized the illegal militia to brutalize innocent Ghanaians at Ayawaso on January 31st is the one behind this whole orchestration to arrest our National Chairman. We wish to state that this invitation by the Police is utterly shameful as it represents misplaced priorities and a tacit encouragement for illegal recordings and doctored tapes. 

We fully associate with the position of our National leadership that the tape recording allegedly involving Chairman Ofosu Ampofo is doctored and a desperate attempt at political equalization to diffuse the widespread condemnation of the state-sponsored brutalities meted to innocent citizens at Ayawaso on January 31st. Also, we believe that it is a desperate attempt to divert attention from the damning revelations of governmental complicity contained in the latest “Galamsey Fraud” documentary of Ace investigative Journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas. 

While we are not against any lawful step by the police in carrying out their duties, we are clear in our minds that they are being used by President Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to intimidate the rank and file of the NDC. This is a situation we cannot accept and so tomorrow our members throughout Accra have decided to accompany Chairman Ofosu Ampofo to the CID Headquarters. We will be joined by other party faithfuls from the regions and we will stay in solidarity with our Chairman for as long as is necessary.  

Despite the unequivocal denial by the NDC of the authenticity of the alleged tape involving our National Chairman and the clear evidence of it being doctored, the Tiwaa Addo Danquah led CID still wants to make a mountain out of a molehill.

DCOP Tiwaa Addo Danquah’s involvement in this matter is actually ironic. It smacks of double standards and hypocrisy to say the least. We refer to her denial and dismissal of a similar tape involving herself and Ghanaian musician A-Plus which is still very fresh in our minds. Given her position that that tape was doctored, Tiwaa Addo Danquah should have been the last person to support this bogus inquiry unless this is a case of merely doing “as master says”.

In any case, if the Ghana Police Service is now minded to investigate doctored tapes, then we would like to know the outcome of the Tiwaa/A-Plus tape investigation since what she said on that tape borders on criminality. The Police must also tell us what they have done or are doing about the audio tape recording involving the Deputy General Secretary of the NPP, Lawyer Obiri Boahene who was captured as saying that; the presidency gave the NPP an amount of 50 billon old cedis for its annual delegates conference in Cape Coast in 2017 but that he was only given GHc 5,000 etc. If the Police have suddenly realised the relevance of leaked tapes and sees them as materials worth investigating, then the Police should tell us the status of their investigations into the above-mentioned cases. Obviously, these cases border on hate crime more than whatever Ofosu Ampofo is alleged to have said on the current doctored tape.

We wish to state that what is attributed to our Chairman on the doctored tape relative to political violence is absolutely inconsistent with his character and track record. Chairman Ofosu Ampofo is a man of peace and he demonstrated that in his handling of the Ayawaso West Wuogon violence. Even in the face of extreme provocation and despite the the heinous atrocities meted to NDC supporters by state-sponsored NPP hoodlums at Ayawaso, he called on the NDC to be calm and took decisions which ensured that nothing was done by his party to escalate the situation or jeopardize the security and stability of this country. It is therefore strange that instead of going after the perpetrators of the Ayawaso West Wuogon Violence, the Police is more interested in harassing the person whose patriotic and peaceful decisions prevented what could have been a national disaster. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have already stated that the Ofosu Ampofo recording is doctored. But in any case, even assuming without admitting that our Chairman said those things in the recording, we would want to ask the Police to tell us what is criminal about it? Many years ago, the late Da Rocha, one of the most respected icons of the NPP described such talk on political platforms as “ugly noises.” That is all there is to the doctored recording in question. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have carefully listened to the doctored tape and can say without equivocation that at no point in the doctored tape was there any talk about threat of harm or threat of death or kidnapping people as is being claimed by some pro NPP media which sadly has been joined by Daily Graphic, a state owned media.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, does it not strike you as odd that networks like Multimedia which in the past refused to play leaked recordings are now in the forefront of this sinister campaign against our National Chairman? 

The Greater Accra Regional Party secretariat stands with Chairman Ofosu Ampofo and will be accompanying him to the Police Headquarters at 8am on Monday. We call on all NDC supporters and sympathizers in Greater Accra to join us and show to President Akufo-Addo and his surrogates that the NDC cannot be cowed or intimidated.

We will defend democracy. We will defend our country against those who seek to turn Ghana into a one party dictatorship. We will fight against the use of state institutions like the Ghana Police service against political opponents of the Akuffo Addo regime.

And May God help us all to resist oppressor rule. 

Thank you all for coming. 

*Anthony Nukpenu*

Greater Accra NDC Regional Organizer.

Tel.: 0544566420