{"id":415303,"date":"2018-04-03T14:10:15","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T14:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=415303"},"modified":"2018-04-03T14:52:49","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T14:52:49","slug":"renegotiate-us-military-base-deal-ablakwa-dares-nana-addo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/04\/renegotiate-us-military-base-deal-ablakwa-dares-nana-addo\/","title":{"rendered":"Renegotiate US ‘military base’ deal – Ablakwa dares Nana Addo"},"content":{"rendered":"
National Democratic Congress [NDC] Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has challenged President Nana Akufo-Addo to renegotiate the\u00a0Ghana-US defence cooperation agreement that has received widespread criticism from the public.<\/p>\n
In an open letter to the President, Mr. Ablakwa said the President\u2019s silence on the matter was uncharacteristic of the man known to be very vocal.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”Bimv3xDugUIvJnVEEqlC8mKQQbDK3Zo6″]\u201cRespectfully, Mr President, you can therefore understand why most of us are extremely surprised at your sudden belief in silence. Your silence on the agreement issue is very much out of character, and we are sincerely befuddled. Everybody is saying this is not the man we have known from ‘titi [ since time immemorial]’.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the President’s silence and the government\u2019s attempts to divert attention from the matter with the \u201cthe high-handed and dramatic arrest of Koku Anyidoho and the change of name of the Flagstaff House to Jubilee House have so far not worked according to plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Mr. Ablakwa\u2019s view, the president\u2019s silence on the matter amounted to a dereliction of duty, and was also tarnishing his reputation as one of Africa’s most influential leaders.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a real tragedy that this singular agreement and US$20 million dollars threaten to destroy everything. A similar defence cooperation agreement between the Kenyan Government and the British Government which has gone viral on social media has deepened our woes, and Ghana, a country used to be the trailblazer and shining example for other African countries is now becoming an object of ridicule on the continent.”<\/p>\n
The North Tongu MP thus dared the President to defend the agreement that was sparked by his discussion with US President Donald Trump, according to\u00a0Paragraph 4 of the Preamble of the agreement.<\/p>\n
“Is Mr. President not proud of his agreement and therefore not bold to man up and defend it with all your acclaimed reputation in advocacy? What did President Trump tell you in that \u201crecent dialogue\u201d that suddenly makes you so averse to listening to and speaking to your own people on this particular issue? What really is in this agreement for you, Mr. President? Is your silence borne out of an effort to hide something from Ghanaians?”<\/p>\n
“It is for this reason, Mr. President, that a higher obligation is imposed on you to engage Ghanaians and take steps to renegotiate with the Americans those articles in the Agreement that the overwhelming majority of Ghanaians are affronted by, and compromises their sacred sovereignty,” Mr Ablakwa said in his letter.<\/p>\n