A member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a former Ambassador of Ghana to the UK, Victor Smith says the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council should not tag the comments made by their Ashanti Regional Secretary, Kwame Zu as the stance of the party and charged them to reduce the issue to his level.
According to him, the Traditional Council should give the party the opportunity to solve issues which has triggered the anger of Okyehene and residents at large.
His comments follow the statement made by the NDC Ashanti Regional Secretary, Kwame Zu who claimed that the Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin use to drink water with animals until the NDC intervened and provided his people with good drinking water.
Mr Kwame Zu last weekend rendered an unqualified apology to the Okyehene and the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council but that, however, could not stop them from proceeding to demonstrate against the NDC.
Commenting on the development on Asempa FM, Mr Victor Smith who’s part of a group calling itself ‘NDC Okyeman Caucus’ which is working to ensure peace between the party and Okyeman said the demonstration by residents of Okyeman targetted the NDC and not Kwame Zu who made such comments
 “They should take our party out, Kwame Zu has erred and nobody is holding brief for him and so whatever it will take to ensure there’s peace between the NDC and Okyeman will be done. They should give us an opportunity so we trash out issues and reduce it to Kwame Zu’s level not a major party like the NDC. Otherwise, it will seem as if the NPP is behind pushing the anti-NDC agenda. It looks like the inscriptions on the placards that were displayed were written by the NPP. NDC this NDC that, why, has the NDC said anything against Okyeman? no. This looks like it’s targeted at the party and not the individual who has committed the offence.“
Some of the placards used during the demonstration read: ‘NDC and Zu Okyeman has rejected you, ‘Shameless NDC,’ ‘NDC do you talk this way to your father,’ ‘NDC stop the dirty gutter politics,’ and ‘Kyebi is blessed without your reach’ among others.
Mr Smith also stated that the tone of the inscriptions gives an indication that the NPP could have influenced it.
''Before we could say jack on Monday they were demonstrating and calling us names. It has become like a direct attack on the NDC therefore we had to do a re-thinking of what this is all about. We haven’t committed any offence, that’s why I say I’m tempted to believe that there’s a bit of NPP machinations in the placards attacking the party making it look like the party has gone after the Okyehene.â€
Background
Kwame Zu who was last week addressing participants of a demonstration by the Coalition for National Sovereignty bemoaned the increasing hardship and refusal by government to complete projects at various stages and questioned the commitment of the President in that respect when he has also refused to commission the ultra-modern Kejetia market.
“If this Kejetia edifice had been in Kyebi won’t Akufo-Addo open it for his people to use? What development has he brought to Asanteman…even his own hometown his people were competing for drinking water with animals, John Mahama had to provide potable water for his kinsmen. Until John Mahama provided water for him, Okyehene was drinking with animalsâ€.
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The statement has incurred the violent anger of Okyeman who have demanded an apology or in default threatened to banish the party from the area.