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Odododiodoo clashes: Let’s stop fighting, says Vanderpuye

The MP for Odododiodoo, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye (National Democratic Congress), has called on his supporters to refrain from violence in the lead-up to the 7 December elections

The MP for Odododiodoo, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has appealed to supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to resort to dialogue, instead of violence, in resolving political differences.

On Sunday, supporters of the two main political parties – the opposition NDC and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) – clashed during a peace walk in James Town, Accra, resulting in 15 people sustaining injuries.

Two men have been arrested by the police.

Speaking at a forum in Accra on Thursday (29 October 2020), the NDC lawmaker warned his supporters against any reprisal attacks, commending the chiefs and opinion leaders for their intervention to maintain peace in the constituency.

Call for calm

“I am not going to allow any member of my party to take the laws into their own hands and say he is going to retaliate.

“So, I am using this forum to appeal to all NDC supporters, that if you love John Dramani Mahama, and you love Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, and [are] a member of the party, then please do not take the law into your own hands,” the former sports minister in the Mahama government pleaded.

Vanderpuye urged NDC supporters to remain calm because, he said, the party is going to win the 7 December presidential and parliamentary elections.

“I know that [by] the Lord Almighty, by His mercies and favour, I am winning this election. I will not just win, but I will win with a wide margin. I will continue to be a member of Parliament for Odododiodoo – for all the people of Odododiodoo, not just NDC supporters, because we have only one Odododiodoo,” he said.

Elections aren’t wars

Meanwhile, President Nana Akufo-Addo has condemned last Sunday’s clashes, saying violence has no place in Ghana’s politics.

“It is not about fighting. If you [a politician] have to use violence to win, then you don’t have anything for the constituents,” the president said, speaking on a public visit to Odododiodoo last week. “So, everyone who does that should be ignored and condemned.

“Elections are just a contest of ideas, and we don’t need violence to be able to do that.

“So, please, I beg of you, we don’t need violence in our country. We want peace.

“The world is watching Ghana in our upcoming polls and we should show them that we respect ourselves and understand democracy well,” the president said.

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