Some unidentified youth in Ho, Tuesday night (January 21) broke into the Ho Central Constituency Office of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and vandalized its equipment.
It is being alleged that the vandalism was over claims that the area had been sidelined in the ongoing political appointments by President John Dramani Mahama.
According to eyewitness narration to the Ghana News Agency, a group of masked individuals marched to the office at around 1900 hours and proceeded to break down the barricaded doors to the office. A huge fire was lit right in front of the building, and items including office furniture, ceiling fans and documents were thrown into the inferno. Tyers were set ablaze on the main road leading to the central market, blocking traffic flow while hundreds gathered to watch in amazement.
According to the account, the youth claimed the Ho Central Constituency had been sidelined in the distribution of political appointments since the inception of the Fourth Republican Constitutions and therefore their action was to draw attention to the neglect. They said the Constituency, the second highest in terms of voter numbers in the Volta region, had consistently secured more than 90 per cent of votes for the NDC, yet they continued to be sidelined in political appointments.
As the fire continued to burn, more furniture were thrown into it, and it took the timely intervention of Ghana National Fire Service to quell the situation. Regional and constituency executives of the NDC rushed to the scene and condemned the act. Mr. Theophilus Adzanku, Deputy Constituency Secretary, appealed for peace, assuring that the President would ensure the Constituency received its share.
“President Mahama will never forget Ho Central. We have worked for the Party and I am appealing to all our supporters to remain calm. Lets all relax and everybody would be satisfied.” He told the media that individuals who perpetrated the act were yet to be identified, and that action would be taken “immediately” to identify them and bring them to book.
“The Party in the Constituency disassociates itself from this act. We know nothing about it. But we would like to calm our supporters and our teeming youth that the appointments are not over yet,” he said. The Deputy Constituency Secretary reported that computers and other electronic gadgets were destroyed in the act, while membership forms and IDs meant for distribution had also been fed to the flames.
Source: GNA
