Former Executive Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation and Communications Officer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dennis “Miracles” Edward Aboagye, has alleged that the NPP Communications Officer for the Ahafo Ano South West Constituency and his team were attacked while producing a video on the government’s proposed 24-hour market project at Mankranso.
In a Facebook post, Mr Aboagye claimed that the communications officer and members of his team were physically assaulted after raising concerns over an alleged plan to demolish a newly constructed school to make way for the market project.
According to him, the incident occurred after the team went to the area to produce what he described as a public-interest video aimed at drawing attention to developments surrounding the proposed project.
“Our communications officer and his team were attacked and physically injured for simply making a public interest video,” Mr Aboagye wrote.
He further alleged that individuals associated with the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) mobilised to confront the team and subsequently went to the police station to demand their arrest.
Mr Aboagye also claimed that the phones of some members of the team were seized during the confrontation and that one of the injured citizens was arrested and detained.
The allegations have not, however, been independently verified, and Mr Aboagye did not provide details of any police report or identify the individuals he accused of carrying out the alleged assault.
Despite the alleged confrontation, Mr Aboagye said the NPP communicators remained determined to continue with their work and proceeded with their public sensitisation activities.
He described the incident as part of what he considers growing attempts to suppress opposition voices and prevent citizens from raising concerns about government projects and policies.
“Good news is, these guys remained resolute and did their sensitization without folding,” he said.
Mr Aboagye argued that the development demonstrates the growing willingness of citizens and opposition activists across the country to speak publicly about issues they consider to be in the public interest.
“The people are rising up in every corner of this country, speaking up, and making their voices heard,” he stated.
The former government official warned that, in his view, the government would face difficulties if it attempted to suppress opposition communication through intimidation or violence.
“It will be risky for this government to think they can shut every voice up,” he said.
He maintained that the NPP had built a nationwide communications structure capable of documenting and reporting developments from communities across Ghana.
According to Mr Aboagye, the party has more than 48,000 elected communications officers nationwide who are prepared to monitor and communicate developments at the grassroots level.
“There are currently over 48,000 communications officers across this country, read it well, NPP elected communications officers, all ready, geared up and fired up to get their job as an opposition party done,” he wrote.
Mr Aboagye said the party’s communications officers would continue to document what they perceive as instances of poor governance, policy failures and other developments across the country.
“Every happening, every incidence, every misgovernance, happening anywhere and everywhere in this country, will be recorded, captured and reported by our comms soldiers on the ground and this will happen in real time,” he stated.
He cautioned against using violence or intimidation as a means of controlling political narratives, insisting that opposition communicators would continue to perform their role.
“You cannot stop what is coming through violence. Violence has never won against facts and common sense,” he added.
Mr Aboagye concluded by urging the government to allow the opposition to carry out its constitutional and political role of scrutinising government activities.
“Get your job done and allow the opposition to also do their job,” he said.
His comments come amid a political debate over the proposed 24-hour economy-related projects, with opposition figures and governing-party representatives increasingly trading claims and counterclaims over the implementation of projects across the country.
The allegations concerning the reported assault and arrests are expected to attract further attention as questions remain about the circumstances surrounding the incident and the proposed development at Mankranso.
By 1960news.com
