Violence At Registration Centres - Let's Avoid Rancour, President Mills Urges Ghanaians

President John Evans Atta Mills

President John Evans Atta Mills President John Evans Atta Mills has called on Ghanaians to go about the biometric voters registration exercise in a peaceful manner devoid of insults, acrimony and rancour.

According to him, a simple exercise such as voters registration should not be allowed to degenerate into something untoward, else questions would be raised as to what Ghanaians wanted as a nation.

“In all we do, we must ensure that the registration exercise is peaceful because we need peace to develop,” he said.

President Mills made the call when he addressed the chiefs and people of Battor and Mepe during a day’s visit to the Volta Region Thursday.

He later paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of the Aflao Traditional Area, Togbui Amenya Fiti V.

The visit was to enable him find out how the better Ghana agenda had caught on with the people of the region and also see how the registration exercise was being carried out.

President Mills expressed grave concern over the pockets of violence being experienced in the ongoing registration exercise in some areas but praised the people of the Volta Region for the smooth and peaceful manner in which the exercise was taking place, adding that theirs was an example for others to emulate.

He said the achievements of his three-year-administration, as contained in the Green Book recently launched by the Vice-President, was not a farce but a reality that was verifiable and measurable.

He added that his administration would not relent on those achievements but continue to pursue vigorous programmes and policies aimed at improving the well-being of the people.

For his part, the Chief of Battor, Togbui Patamia Dzekle VII, said the President’s visit was a surprise to the people, adding that they had looked at the Green Book and its content and were marvelled by the achievements of the NDC administration in which they had also benefitted but added that they still needed more.

Later at Togbui Fiti’s palace at Aflao, President Mills observed that certain persons wanted to create the erroneous impression that the NDC government was against the people of Aflao.

“Why should we be against the people of Aflao? These are people who stood solidly behind the government. We came to power at a critical time but we are here today because of their support,” he said.

The President assured the people of Aflao that the government would not disappoint them, saying, “We recognise that Aflao deserves a municipality. We recognise that Aflao deserves a double-lane road and a quality hospital and we are working on these needs.”

President Mills also said there were in the country those who believed in violence and somehow thought that they could have their way by resorting to violence.

In a welcoming address read by Mr Kobla Deku on their behalf, the chiefs and people of the area said the excellent leadership provided by President Mills had led to peace, tranquillity and prosperity in the country.

“Indeed, your better Ghana Agenda is one of a kind. Some of its manifestations are being seen in school infrastructure, social development, improvement in health, educational enrolment and school feeding,”

They, however, added that as much as they recognised those achievements throughout the country, they felt that Aflao and its environs could gain more from the government when issues that bothered them were addressed.

Among the issues catalogued were the upgrading of Aflao to a municipal status, unemployment, unacceptable treatment meted out to citizens who wanted to cross the border to visit relatives in Togo or engage in economic activities.

“We would humbly entreat His Excellency that whatever his political opponents may think and say, whatever those with anti-Aflao sentiments may wish to peddle nationwide, our expectations are that His Excellency will do what is right, give us what we deserve, that is, Aflao municipality,” they said.