{"id":127421,"date":"2015-06-23T08:24:43","date_gmt":"2015-06-23T08:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=127421"},"modified":"2015-06-23T08:36:02","modified_gmt":"2015-06-23T08:36:02","slug":"dont-insult-the-intelligence-of-agbogbloshie-protesters-nana-akomea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2015\/06\/dont-insult-the-intelligence-of-agbogbloshie-protesters-nana-akomea\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t insult the intelligence of Agbogbloshie protesters – Nana Akomea"},"content":{"rendered":"

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described as “insulting,” claims that it instigated the residents of Old Fadama to demonstrate against government on Monday.<\/p>\n

The NPP argued that the Old Fadama residents whose structures and properties were destroyed in last Saturday\u2019s demolition exercise reacted on their own volition.<\/p>\n

[contextly_sidebar id=”Q7qq7yTYXFu945KpdM2tQCTNrpxC8msi”]NPP\u2019s Communications Director, Nana Akomea in an interview with Citi News<\/strong> said: \u201cYou are actually insulting them by saying to them that they don\u2019t know what they are doing, they don\u2019t have any minds of their own and that they are being manipulated by some people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thousands of angry Old Fadama residents<\/a><\/strong> <\/span>took to the streets of Accra to express their displeasure at the decision by the government to forcibly eject them from their places of abode near the Odaw River and the Korle Lagoon by demolishing their structures.<\/p>\n

The demonstration turned violent<\/strong> <\/span><\/a>as they pelted the Police and some journalists with stones and chased them with clubs.<\/p>\n

Some Policemen were reported to have sustained injuries while Police vehicles were also vandalized.<\/p>\n

They then proceeded to the State House<\/a><\/strong> <\/span>where they peeled off the coat of arms at the entrance, broke a number of flower pots and broke the windscreen of some of the buses parked at the premises.<\/p>\n

The Deputy Local Government Minister, Nii Lante Vanderpuye has however accused the NPP of instigating the residents to demonstrate.<\/p>\n

\"Nii<\/a>
Nii Lante Vanderpuye<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vanderpuye, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodio justified his accusation with the explanation that about 20 of the protesters were wearing NPP T-shirts.<\/p>\n

Reacting to these claims, Nana Akomea remarked that government\u2019s response to the incident is regrettable.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are blaming somebody sitting somewhere as the person who is manipulating them,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cyou can\u2019t even show sympathy for the plight of these people, the plight of the current situation they find themselves in.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to him, Mr. Vanderpuye\u2019s claims that some NPP youth wearing party T-shirts were among the protestors cannot justify his comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the attitude of people in government; it is a shame and when you ask them for evidence, they say that they were wearing NPP T shirt!\u201d<\/p>\n

Nana Akomea pointed out that party T-shirts are not restricted items because iff you go to the market, you can buy NPP T-shirt, you can buy NDC T-shirt. If you go to the NPP office, there are hawkers there who are selling T-shirts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn any case, the demonstrators from Sodom and Gomorrah; some of them were wearing NDC T-shirts so for the deputy Minister to make such a statement shows that the NDC government is constantly thinking backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By: Efua Idan Osam\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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