Residents of Bolga want GTV to replay Martin Amidu’s Vetting

Residents of Bolgatanga have appealed to management of the nation’s broadcaster, GTV to re-broadcast the footage of Mr Martin Amidu’s vetting in the country’s house of legislature.

According to the residents, lights in the Bolgatanga Township and its environs went off from the morning of Tuesday to noon on Wednesday, thereby depriving majority of the people to watch the vetting which was broadcast by GTV and other private stations.

Members of the public who shared their views on Mr Amidu’s meeting with Parliament said, as a son of the Upper East Region and considering the public discourse and the controversies that surrounded his appointment as Special Prosecutor, they were denied viewership and indicated that it was unfair.

Members of the public who expressed their concerns to the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga therefore called on the Management of GTV to replay Mr Amidu’s encounter with the select committee that vetted him.

Mr Henry Adivila, an entrepreneur said the Management of GTV would do residents of Bolgatanga “a big disservice” if they failed to honour the request and insisted that, coming from Kadema in the Builsa District of the Upper East Region, it was only fair that his sympathisers and well-wishers heard him.

He indicated that Mr Amidu by his public accountability advocacy could deliver to the expectation of all “but we needed to see the action live and enjoy the mannerisms that will come with it from both the Majority and the Minority in Parliament”.

Mr Anthony Apubeo, a journalist and Service person with the GNA stated that a replay of the vetting was necessary because the position which was the first of its kind was a sensitive area which every member of the public needed to watch to form their own judgments about the man seeking to fight corruption in the country and how he was going to do it.

He noted that Mr Amidu had a chain of repute for speaking against corruption and acting accordingly, including pursuing some of the cases all by himself in court of law, and said “that was what we all needed to hear and see the actions”.

Mr Apubeo therefore insisted that management of GTV should re-broadcast Mr Amidu’s Vetting in Parliament to give the region’s public a clear sense of judgment of the vigilante who is to serve as the ombudsman in the fight against corruption.

Mr Caswell Yidana, a graduate from the University for Development Studies said some members of the public in Bolgatanga were not privy to the discussions in parliament because the lights went off and indicated that the essence of the live broadcast was to engage members of the public to appreciate the vetting process to form individual opinions on Mr Amidu.

Mr Yidana said he had no doubt that Mr Amidu was the best person for the job considering his vast experience at the Attorney General’s Department and dedicated service to the nation, the Special Prosecutor could deliver and commended government for honouring its promise to run an all-inclusive government. 

The lights out which affected the Bolgatanga Municipality lasted about 24 hours and also deprived most of the Radio Stations from hooking on to the live broadcast, while other residents who could resort to internet service to catch the live broadcast had their mobile phones down for lack of battery power.