Bawumia Escapes NDC Attack

The vice presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, avoided a scheme by some elements in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to embarrass him during his visit to the Volta Region last week.

Dr Bawumia was scheduled to hold some meetings in the region last Friday but decided to reschedule them after the NPP picked credible information about a plot by some members of the NDC to disrupt the event in retaliation of the humiliation suffered by two deputy ministers in Kumasi last week.

Five government appointees, including deputy minister of education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and deputy minister of communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, were hooted at by students of Colleges of Education in the Ashanti Region over the withdrawal of their allowances, accusing the government officials of using the money to by luxury vehicles which the students termed 'allawa cars.'

Dr Bawumia was supposed to meet executives of his party in selected constituencies in the Volta Region, appear on some selected radio stations and later address students of the Akatsi College of Education and Ho Polytechnic.

The programme for Akatsi was scheduled for 2pm while that for the Ho Polytechnic was expected to come off at 5.30 pm.

Plot
But Regional Chairman of the NPP, John Peter Amewu, said they picked intelligence earlier in the day suggesting that the NDC was planning to disrupt the programmes, especially Dr Bawumia's planned meeting with students of the Akatsi College of Education and Ho Polytechnic, through the foot soldiers.

This has also confirmed by police sources in the region.

After various confirmations regarding the plot, and after meetings with security persons in the region, coupled with contacts with the heads of the two institutions, the NPP regional executives therefore devised a smart way of averting the planned attack and expose the plot for the whole world to know.

Considering the enormity of the confirmations, the NPP gurus were said to have decided to postpone the programmes and Dr. Bawumia made not to appear on either of the two campuses.

Dr. Bawumia was therefore made to appear on two local radio stations in Ho - Kekeli FM and Volta Premier - as originally scheduled, which incidentally is on the campus of Ho Polytechnic.

From Volta Premier, Dr. Bawumia was expected to move to the Akatsi College of Education to address the students there before returning to Ho in the evening to address students of the Ho Polytechnic.

It was at this stage that the plan by the regional executives to thwart the attack and at the same time expose it, was set in motion.

Decoy
Instead of heading to Akatsi, Dr. Bawumia was said to have been made to return to Accra with his team, while the regional executives headed for Akatsi - something which deceived the plotters to think that Dr. Bawumia was indeed coming there.

While the executives were in a meeting with teachers of the Akatsi College of Education, the NDC foot soldiers arrived at the campus with placards to act their prepared script (cause confusion), thinking Dr Bawumia was also there.

However, students of the college who realised what was about to happen, mobilized and engaged in a fierce battle with the hooligans, some of who were said to have pulled out knives and sticks but were eventually overpowered and driven out of the school by the students.

The NPP regional executives after meeting the students and explaining why the programme had to be rescheduled, then left Akatsi and proceeded to Ho.

Drama
However, the NDC foot soldiers, who were still oblivious of the fact that Dr. Bawumia had long reached Accra and still believed he was part of the team that went to Akatsi, started flying pictures of the supposed demonstration against Dr. Bawumia on social media.

Thinking that he was among the team to Ho, the NDC elements behind the plot were said to have rolled out the Ho version of the plot.

This time around, hired 'machomen' were allegedly dispatched to the Ho Polytechnic campus to cause similar chaos.

However, because the Regional CID in the morning had picked up signals of the plot, these assailants were confronted by the police who had dispatched dozens of their men to the campus.

The police were said to have managed to drive the NDC hoodlums away but refused to arrest them since they were not permited to demonstrate.

The executives of the NPP have since described the plot as unfortunate and despicable.

A pro-NPP group, 'Operation 40% for NPP in Volta Region,' also issued a statement over the weekend condemning the plot and likening it to the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

The group was at a loss as to how elements in of the NDC could actually plot to maim Nana Akufo-Addo's running mate, noting that if the plot had been carried out successfully, it would have led to uncontrollable tension which could have sparked chaos countrywide.

The group, in the statement, thanked God for His intervention in averting the plot and called on the Regional House of Chiefs to call the NDC to order since such acts could end up tarnishing the image of the region.

It also called on the security agencies to get to the bottom of the matter.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu