End all hostilities in NPP — Akufo-Addo

The flag bearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has urged party members to let the death of the party’s Asawase activist, Abubakar Siddique, mark an end to all hostilities in the party.

He described the death as sad and unfortunate and called on party members to remain calm and refrain from taking the law into their hands.

Nana Akufo-Addo was addressing NPP supporters and relatives of  Siddique, who was recently stabbed to death for allegedly threatening to beat up the constituency chairman who was reported to have made some unpleasant comments about Nana Akufo-Addo.

He presented an amount of GH¢2,500 to the family.

Siddique and his group locked up the party’s office upon hearing that the Asawase Constituency Chairman, Mr Isaac Brenya, and some constituency executive members had joined the party activists who went to Accra to demonstrate against the suspension of the party’s National Chairman, Mr Paul Afoko.

Nana Akufo-Addo said aside from being a staunch party member, Siddique was his personal friend who was always at hand whenever he (Nana Akufo-Addo) was in Kumasi.

The flag bearer said the party believed in democracy, which does not have room for violent attacks, and urged supporters to ensure that the sad demise of Siddique would mark the end of such attacks in the party.

Court remanded  

On Tuesday, three out of the seven who were arrested in connection with the murder of Abubakar Siddique were remanded in custody by the Asokwa Magistrate’s Court.

The remanded persons who have been charged with murder are Osman Issah and Alhassan Issah, both in prison custody, and Hajia Wasila Gariba who was also placed in police custody.

Their pleas were, however, not taken and they are expected to reappear on November 24, 2015.

Mr Kwame Owusu-Sekyere, counsel for Osman and Hajia Gariba, pleaded with the court to admit his clients to bail while the police continued with their investigations. 

Background   

Mr Afoko was suspended indefinitely as the National Chairman of the opposition NPP in October 23, 2015 at an emergency National Executive Committee meeting in Accra.

In September, the party’s Council of Elders, in a seven-page letter to the NPP’s Disciplinary Committee, ordered that steps should be taken to suspend Mr Afoko from the position of chairman of the party.

After several invitations to Mr Afoko to appear before the Disciplinary Committee were not honoured, the committee decided to recommend his suspension.

The party’s First Vice Chairman, Mr Freddy Blay, convened and chaired a meeting which endorsed the recommendation to suspend the embattled chairman.