News:
September 6, 2011
The Deputy Attorney General, Ebo Barton Oduro has dismissed assertions that government deliberately slighted political parties at this year’s Oguaa Fetu Afahye held in Cape Coast over the weekend.
Protocol on the day of the festival celebration did not allow representatives of political parties who had been invited to the festival to exchange pleasantries with traditional rulers as has been the convention at such festivals over the years.
Sections of the public especially political activists have described the unfortunate situation as an affront to the parties involved an action they contend should be condemned.
However speaking on Radio Gold on Monday 5th September 2011, the Deputy Attorney General Barton Oduro who is also the Member of Parliament for Cape Coast apologized for any inconvenience that was caused anybody by the unfortunate incident.
He explained that just about the time that the party reps were about to be called to exchange pleasantries with the Chiefs, the President’s arrival at the durbar grounds was announced just about the same time thereby halting any other activity which was in process.
“The Chiefs and people of Cape Coast are very receptive and respect tradition, there is no way they will do anything to publicly disgrace the very people they invited to an all important programme such as the Oguaa Fetu Afahye’’ Hon. Barton Oduro added.
Last year’s festival celebration recorded an incident where the Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akufo Addo who had been invited to the festival was prevented from exchanging pleasantries with the Paramount Chef of Oguaa Traditional Area, Osaberima Kwesi Attah allegedly on the orders of some leading members of government.
The incident created a lot of uproar from NPP members who felt their Presidential Candidate had been disgraced in public by the restriction placed on him.
Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh