2 NDC members share contradictory views on NPP vigilantism letter

Two National Democratic Congress (NDC) members have shared contradictory views on a letter from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) inviting the NDC to a meeting to end the menace of party vigilantism.

While Peter Boamah Otukunor, the Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, insists the letter smacks of bad faith, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodoo indicated that the letter was written in good faith.

The NPP wrote to the NDC on March 18, in fulfillment of a directive from the president while delivering his State of the Nation Address in February, and according to him, the two parties had dominated the political space since the Fourth Republican Constitution began in 1992 and should be able to dialogue on disbanding the groups who perpetrate the violence, since the groups are affiliated to them.

However, Mr Otukunor said the NPP’s letter to the NDC did not show the needed commitment, determination and dedication to the dialogue on disbanding party vigilantism and maintained that “if they were, their letter will state time and venue for the meeting instead of leaving it to the discretion of the NDC”.

He also accused the NPP of failing to concede to the NDC’s initial demand of a third party mediating the meeting of the two, the letter stated that the initial meeting should be held and the two parties decide the third party organisation to bring on board.

But dismissing the claim, Mr Otukunor stated that “for the first meeting, we should even have the stakeholders in there to efficiently and effectively moderate who should be there, it appears the NPP in their operations are exhibiting a level of bad faith”.

In contrast, Nii Lante Vanderpuye maintained that the letter from the NPP was in good faith saying that, “the initial meeting the NPP has invited us to dialogue will afford us the opportunity to agree on certain basic principles; the two parties can meet, as a preliminary one”.

-myjoyonline.com