The youth of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) will demonstrate on Monday, March 7, in an attempt to compel government to release the party’s assets confiscated after its Founder and Ghana’s first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown.
The CPP have in the past years demanded the release of the assets which includes buildings, arguing that the assets were unlawfully seized by the military junta that overthrew Kwame Nkrumah in 1966.
[contextly_sidebar id=”hDXTdIBhqVL8fUKbU4O2fceyxwBD12b3″]Speaking to Citi News, the National Youth Organiser of the CPP, Ernesto Yeboah, said the party’s youth will picket close to the assets dotted across the country.
“We are doing this nationwide picketing to point out the irony in the fact that this is a political party that mobilizes the people of Ghana to devise for its independence and then we succeeded at it. Today, this same political party that led the fight for Ghana’s independence is not being treated fairly,” he added.
The CPP youth organizer lamented that the party “has all its assets across the length and breadth of the country confiscated.”
“We are supposed to assemble in front of our offices across the country. In Accra, we are supposed to assemble in front of our national headquarters which is now hosting the Information Services Department; the building that was recently hosting the Ministry of Information. We are not vagabonds, we are not violent inspired people, we are only going to assemble in front of our offices to point out the injustice that is being done against us” he emphasized.
CPP’s court action over seized assets
CPP in August 2015, dragged government to the Human Rights Division of the High Court to order the return of the party’s assets.
A writ of summons filed on behalf of the party by its lawyer, Mr. Bright Akwetey, prayed the court to order the government to return its confiscated assets which have for the past 50 years been occupied by state agencies without the payment of rent.
President Mahama last year promised to release the assets when some CPP officials paid a courtesy call on him but that pledge is yet to be fulfilled.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana