Former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Nii Ayikoi Otoo has criticised the Minority in Parliament, particularly the National Democratic Congress (NDC), for its lack of strategy and overreliance on public commentary.
According to him, the NDC’s habit of openly discussing its plans has weakened its position, allowing its political opponents in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to counter its moves effectively.
During an interview on Citi FM on Friday, October 18, Otoo highlighted that the NDC’s approach to frequently airing their intentions publicly has been detrimental.
He suggested that by revealing their strategies ahead of time, they essentially provide the NPP with ample time to prepare and take preemptive measures against them.
Mr Otoo specifically pointed to the aftermath of the Speaker of Parliament’s recent ruling, which declared the seats of four MPs vacant.
He explained that even before the procedural issues were fully addressed, members of the NDC had already begun discussing their plans to repeal certain laws and implement other changes, further undermining their position.
The former Attorney General advised the NDC to be more tactful in handling their political strategies and avoid unnecessary public declarations, which he believes only serve to strengthen the resolve of their opponents.
“They were in the media talking about all those issues instead of keeping quiet and doing their things in the Chamber.”
“Even before they brought up the issue of the four members of Parliament to the floor for deliberation, they had started talking outside of Parliament on political platforms that they were going to remove those four MPs from Parliament.”
Meanwhile, commenting on the Supreme Court’s stay of the Speaker’s ruling that declared four parliamentary seats vacant, Ayikoi Otoo noted that the NDC had already started discussing the removal of the affected MPs on political platforms before formally bringing the issue to Parliament for deliberation.
He argued that this early publicity allowed the NPP to act swiftly, organizing and filing legal action in a timely manner to counter the move.
“I think I will take this opportunity to advise the NDC, I think they shot themselves in the foot by talking too much. You talk about strategies and tactics and I think it is lost on them [NDC] completely and they were doing things, which really frightened the Majority and pushed them into trying to protect whatever.
“We [NDC] are going to amend laws, change this… just keep quiet and do your thing, at the end of the day, when you get whatever you want to get fine.”
“Anything you want to do think about your strategy and tactics and stop making too much noise. The noise was such that when you frighten somebody, the basic instinct of a man is to protect his life and to survive. All the things they [NDC] did, compelled the Majority to take this decision they have taken.”
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