The Persons with Disability Secretariat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is demanding an apology from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over its communications team member’s comment against former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
Dela Edem, a member of the NDC’s communications team, made offensive comments suggesting that Mr Kufuor’s use of a wheelchair was due to a curse.
The comment implied that an 83-year-old former President Kufuor, who distinguished himself as a president and continues to show his unwavering commitment and patriotism to this country as a citizen and a statesman, is in a wheelchair because of his sins and wickedness.
The Persons with Disability Secretariat, therefore, in a statement issued on Monday, noted that “The said comment meant to suggest that an 83-year-old President Kufuor, who distinguished himself as a president and continues to show his unwavering commitment and patriotism to this country as a citizen and a statesman, is in a wheelchair because of his sins and wickedness.
“We have noticed with deep shock that the NDC as a political party and its flagbearer have not seen the need to render any apology to the former president and by extension all persons with disabilities across the country to date.
“We wish to contend without any modicum of equivocation that this comment is absolutely repugnant, reprehensible, and rebarbative because it abridges and curtails the rights of persons with disabilities when it comes to expressing our views on national issues.”
The secretariat underscored that this was corroborated by a comment made some time ago by the current Speaker of Parliament, Honorable Alban Bagbin, that one of the factors that led to the NDC losing power in 2016 was allegedly as a result of making Honorable Edward Omane Boamah, a stammerer, a communication minister under Mahama.
“This clearly indicates that the NDC as a party and their functionaries have no respect for persons with disabilities, hence they keep using undignified words against us in their utterances wherever they find themselves. It remains an indubitable or incontrovertible truth that issues of disability in this country have been rendered nugatory by the public, and most people rather believe that disability comes as a result of punishment from God to the person due to his bad deeds.
“But we are of the conviction that it is about time that we rose against such ignominious treatment given to us in this country because of the thinking that persons with disabilities are subjects of God’s curse without taking into consideration that disability knows no one and anybody at all can become disabled at any time.”
The secretariat called on all persons with disabilities across the country to rally their unflinching support behind the NPP for a good cause because it was the only party that was reliable when it comes to our issues based on the record available.
“Do not be swindled by any amount of money or material gift which will be offered to you by the NDC just to win your vote because they will continue to render you impecunious after winning the election but rather fall for a party that will implement policies that have the propensity to mitigate your hardship. Let us all try to be incredulous in times like this so as not to be swayed by these people,” it added.
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