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GITMO SAGA A SAD EXAMPLE
OF MAHAMA’S FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP, SAYS AKUFO-ADDO
The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party,
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has described the ongoing saga
involving the arrival into Ghana of two Guantanamo Bay
detainees as yet another example of the failure of
leadership on the part of President Mahama.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the law, as contained in
Section 35 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2008, (Act 762),
prohibits the transaction into which President Mahama has
entered with the United States government. In addition to
this, the President’s decision not to consult the relevant
stakeholders in the country, so as to assuage the fears of
Ghanaians, has resulted in heightened levels of fear amongst
Ghanaians.
Had President Mahama done the needed consultations, Nana
Akufo-Addo noted that the “Ghanaian people may well have
been spared the disquieting anxiety, in this time of
justifiably heightened fear of global terrorism, that we are
being led by a President who, ostensibly in the name of
compassion, prefers to ignore laws designed to defend the
most sensitive area of all, our nation’s security.”
The NPP flagbearer made this known when he delivered a
tribute in honour of the late Alhaji Alhassan Bin Salih in
Wa, at an event of homage held on Tuesday, January 19, 2016.
According to the NPP flagbearer, President Mahama’s failure
in showing leadership in this matter “is a sad example of
his belief that he is answerable to no one, not even to the
laws of the Republic, like s.35 of the Anti-Terrorism Act
(Act 760), which, as President, he is sworn to uphold.”
Section 35 (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2008, (Act 762),
states that “The Director of Immigration or an officer
authorised by the Director shall not grant an endorsement or
authority to permit a person to enter this country if there
are reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is, will
or has been involved in the commission of a terrorist act.”
“Since he claims that only Presidents Rawlings and Kufuor
have the right to criticize him, I would have wished that he
had found it worthy to consult both of our two former
national leaders before he took this grave decision that has
consequences for us all,” he said.
To this end, Nana Akufo-Addo admonished all Ghanaians,
regardless of their political or religious affiliations, to
“refrain from introducing religious divisions into the
debate, for the issue at stake is not a religious one.”
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