Flagbearer of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai Odike, has joined calls for the president, his vice president, and the finance minister’s resignation.
Speaking at the “Kume Preko Reloaded” protest on Saturday, November 5, 2022 in Accra, he noted that the President has failed the country and must resign.
“Akufo-Addo has nothing good to offer Ghanaians. He has broken the oath he swore to Ghanaians on December 7. He’s ruling like he’s doing Ghanaians a favor. In the midst of the pandemic and the economic crisis, this is the time he charters private jets for his travels,” he said.
Mr Odike, dressed in a black shirt over a black pair of shorts, marched in solidarity with the other protesters and bemoaned the current economic situation.
“Even if we offer him 100 years he can’t offer Ghanaians any good thing,” he stressed. “The President “can’t help the country. So he should step down for someone to come and continue with the work,” he added.
He also accused the president of poor accountability, emphasising that the president could not account for the COVID-19 fund.
Kume preko reloaded
Dubbed ‘Kume preko reloaded’ the demonstration was to protest the current economic crisis, as was seen in 1995 when Charles Wereko-Brobby led some Ghanaians (including Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is currently the President) to contest the economic hardship under the Rawlings regime.
Not even an ongoing church service at the Independence Square could stop the Kume Preko demonstrators from conveying their message to the President, his Vice, and the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Their message was simple; the aforementioned individuals must resign over the current economic hardships or risk being impeached.
The protestors could not fathom why a man who played a key role in the 1995 Kume Preko demonstration would be in power, and supervise the collapse of the economy.
They had been marching from the Obra Spot at Kwame Nkrumah Circle and were hoping to end their march at the Independent Square, as agreed with the Ghana Police Service.
To their utter surprise, there was an ongoing church service at the Independence Square when they got there; a situation that did not sit well with the protestors. There was a little commotion, with some protestors hooting at the church members, however, calm was soon restored.
This incident did not stop them from relaying their message to the president. They converged around the statue of the soldier facing the Independence Arch, and outlined their plights; key among them was a call on the President to immediately “slash the prices of fuel by 50%.”
They lamented the failure of the government to redeem Ghanaians from the situation, as President Akufo-Addo promised.
According to the protestors, the President has plunged the country into extreme poverty, citing the hikes in prices of goods, the fall of the cedi, the astronomical surge in fuel prices, etc.
Some prominent personalities who graced the occasion included Private Legal Practitioner, Martin Kpebu, who was the convenor of this demonstration, #FixTheCountry convenor, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, and a host of others.
Source: The Independent Ghana