Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mustapha Gbande, has rejected claims by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) suggesting that former President John Mahama is positioning himself for a third term, describing them as baseless and a diversion from the ongoing constitutional process involving Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
Speaking on PM Express on Joy News on Monday, May 5, Gbande said the NPP’s public comments and protests over the Chief Justice’s suspension are designed to incite fear and shift focus from legal procedures.
“It is no longer just that Chief Justice Torkornoo was unfairly treated, but that they can see into the future that President Mahama would have to do a third term. And for that, they are scared,” Gbande said.
When asked directly whether former President Mahama was considering a third term, he dismissed the suggestion, saying it was not the NPP’s role to determine constitutional interpretations.
He described the NPP’s protest and commentary as attempts to politicise the suspension process and warned that such actions could harm national institutions.
“The manner in which they are politicising this whole matter would injure the Chief Justice herself,” he said. “You are further exposing the Chief Justice politically and aligning her to a particular opinion or argument from a group of people, which is not fair to her.”
Gbande also criticised what he called selective outrage by the NPP, questioning why the party had not condemned pro-NPP broadcaster Paul Adom-Otchere for publishing the Chief Justice’s response before accusing NDC members of politicising the matter.
“Why is it that Egyapa Mercer is accusing Sammy Gyamfi and Edudzi of commenting on the matter when Paul Adom-Otchere was the one who actually serialised the Chief Justice’s response and put it out there?” he asked.
Gbande maintained that the Chief Justice’s suspension was in line with constitutional provisions, adding that the NPP’s own demonstration highlighted the very constitutional freedoms they claim are under threat.
“To demonstrately in the morning, bringing people from Winneba and Kumasi to protest in Accra, that is a right given to them by the same Constitution they claim is under threat,” he said.
He urged the NPP to allow the legal process to proceed without speculation or politicisation, cautioning that false narratives could damage public trust in democratic institutions.
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