Govt asked not to lift ban on party activities in Tamale

Accra, Nov. 2 GNA - Alhaji Basit Fuseini, a leading member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Monday asked the Government not to review the ban on outdoor political activities in Tamale for political expediency.

"There is uneasy calm in Tamale, hence the need for the Government to tread cautiously on matters of security to help save lives and property, before, during and after the December 7 polls," he told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Accra.

Alhaji Fuseini alleged that the Leadership of the two feuding political parties, the NPP and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), had lost control on the activities of the belligerents, mainly the youth, who often went on rampage on the slightest political provocation.

He said the political stalemate made it prudent for the Northern Regional Security Council to slap the ban on outdoor party activities. Alhaji Fuseini described as appropriate the ban of political discussions on the FM stations in Tamale, explaining that, " some of the programmes constituted a security threat and an open attack on some personalities".

Meanwhile Mr Ibrahim Alabira, the Parliamentary Candidate of the Convention People's Party (CPP) for Mion, has called for an immediate review of the decision to ban outdoor political activities in Tamale and Yendi.

"The decision by the REGSEC to ban political activities in the two areas, following skirmishes between the followers of the NPP and the NDC was uncalled for," he told the GNA.

He said the security agencies knew those causing confusion with impunity and must deal with them individually instead of slamming a ban on whole communities, when election was some weeks away.

Mr Alabira suggested the need for all the political parties to limit their campaigns to voters in local communities instead of organising large-scale political rallies that demanded the transportation of supporters from other areas.

The NDC had also condemned the imposition of the ban in the Dagbon Traditional Area, which had been torn apart by a protracted chieftaincy dispute, that led to the assassination of the Paramount Chief, Ya-na Yakubu Andani II and thirty others.

At a press conference the NDC said: "No amount of threats of re-imposition of the state of emergency or drastic measures could solve the problem without the Government's demonstration and administration of swift justice irrespective of the personalities, parties or groups involved."