Residents of Old Fadama have denied allegations that they were instigated by a political party to riot on Monday.
According to them, the decision to demonstrate was spontaneous following the demolition by the city authorities carried out on Saturday.
One of the residents told Citi News, “I heard the media say it was NPP [New Patriotic Party] people who sponsored the youth to demonstrate. It is not true.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”aUpp1hpN5PugT8o05ez3QpauhkRbNStw”]“It is not true that NPP people came here to come and give somebody money to go and demonstrate. The thing [demonstration] worry us,” he added.
On Monday, hundreds of irate youth demonstrated against the Accra Metropolitan Assembly’s (AMA) decision to demolish their homes.
They vandalized vehicles belonging to the Ghana Police Service and pelted stones at the Police personnel and media men.
Some also angrily stormed the State House at Osu and vandalizing some properties.
The Member of Parliament for the area and Deputy Minister for Local Government, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, some officials at the AMA and some members of the public have accused the opposition NPP of instigating the riots.
But residents have described such allegations as baseless.
A resident said the area is a stronghold of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“This place is an NDC seat. Ododododiodio is an NDC, we all vote for NDC.”
Another also debunked the reports saying, “this is a total lie. That very day, we were all here but we did not have any contact with any political parties to demonstrate.
That very day, NDC people wore their T-shirts but they brought the Police and the Soldiers here. The whole thing looks political.”
One other displaced resident said: “It is a big lie because we were those who went to Parliament. We are pure NDC people; we were born NDC, our fathers and mothers are NDC but because of this thing [demolition], we are very, very annoyed.”
“Now we want the whole of Ghana to know that those riots they saw on TV, we were NDC people not NPP.”
Click on link below to listen to the Old Fadama residents
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By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @ osamidan