President John Dramani Mahama has called on the Clergy to call to order politicians whose utterances pose threats to peace and national unity in the country.
According to him, careless statements made during this political season could stoke unnecessary tension.
The President made the remark in relation to some unsavory comments made by the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, against the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Charlotte Osei.
[contextly_sidebar id=”GRJxAeTqYHf7ENMjv4eb5EdmQTRuU29R”]The New Patriotic Party MP is said to have accused Charlotte Osei of getting her current position through sexual favours.
But President Mahama, while addressing members of the Clergy and the Business Community in the Ashanti Region on Thursday, charged the clergy to condemn the comment.
“Often when elections are coming up, the political rhetoric ratchets up and very careless and unfortunate statements are made, like the one made recently that everybody is talking about. And when things happen like that and gets a bit hot, it is you the clergy and our traditional leaders who must come and call all the politicians to order.”
He said the clergy and traditional leaders serve as arbitrators in such cases, hence must not been seen as taking sides since such positions could undermine their moral authority.
“…your role as arbiters means you must be independent and neutral because when the clergy takes sides then we lose the moral authority to arbitrate and so it doesn’t matter if it’s NDC that is ratcheting up intemperate language, you must feel free to point it out to that party. It doesn’t matter if it is the NPP, we must call them to order. And it is only when we do that, that we can have the moral authority to be able to arbitrate in this political regime. Ghana is bigger than any politician. And so sometimes when our heads get hot, it is your duty to call us to order and let us remember that Ghana will exist long after all of us are gone,” he added.
Agyapong’s comments slanderous
Several bodies and individuals have rebuked Kennedy Agyapong for unleashing the scathing attack on the EC chair.
Where as the Minister of Gender and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, demanded an apology from the MP, the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has condemned the comment describing it as “slanderous and unfair.”
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin