The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has debunked the
assertion by Defense Minister Dominic Nitiwul that the controversial
military deal was signed under the erstwhile Mahama administration by
the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hannah Tetteh.
Mr. Nitiwul has received massive backlash from the public after a memo
written by his ministry on a possible corporation between government and
the US military was leaked to the media.
The agreement which will exempt the US from paying tax on equipment
imported into the country, also permits the military to set up a
telecommunication system on
Ghana’s radio spectrum for free.
It also gives the US military unfettered access to some facilities close to the Kotoka International Airport.
Addressing the media yesterday, the Defense Minister alleged that, the
then government also saw the controversial agreement passed, binding
Ghanaians and government to the deal.
He also described the recent agreement as a renewal of the same contract.
But rebutting these claims, General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu
Nketia maintains the assertion by the minister was a desperate attempt
to deceive Ghanaians and trade away the country's sovereignty.
He also accused the President, Nana Akufo-Addo of jeopardizing the welfare of the people, in exchange for aid and favor.
“Honorable Nitiwul who is pushing for this agreement can be cited for
treason for attempting to subvert the sovereignty of Ghana.
However, we cannot blame him because he is acting on the orders of
President Nana Akufo-Addo who appears to have been swayed by an award
given to him during his recent visit to the state by a US lobby firm. We
strongly believe the award was orchestrated to soften the sitting
president to ratify the agreement.
We also strongly believe that recent comment by the US ambassador
describing President Nana Addo as more visionary than previous Ghanaian
leaders was part of a carefully orchestrated and well planned strategy
to sweet-talk him into accepting this deal.”
The NDC also assured Ghanaians of a retraction of the deal should the party be voted back into power in 2020.
According to Mr. Asiedu Nketia the current protocol being enjoyed by the
United State in Ghana was enough and thus granting them additional
privileges was unnecessary.
“If President Akufo-Addo and his NPP administration proceed to ratify
this agreement despite all protests and public sentiments, the NDC
administration which will assume power in 2021 will suspend the
agreement and initiate a more reaching review of this provision” he
added.
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