Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa, MP North Tongu
The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Constituency in the Volta region, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has lamented over alleged biased state-controlled media failure to give equal opportunity, airtime and coverage to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) under the leadership of President Nana Akufo-Addo.
According to the ranking member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs committee, Mr. John Mahama and the National Democratic Congress government while in power, did not sabotage the NPP using state-owned media companies including GBC, GNA, Graphic Communication, among others but the opposite seems to be happening under the current government.
He said this at a press soiree held in Ho on Saturday 18, January, where both present and former appointees of the party were present including party activists.
“They (NPP) are always on the front pages of the state-owned media, given prominence (on) the electronic state-owned media, GBC, GNA and we didn’t dismiss anybody or criticize anybody or raise hell and that is how it should be but now, President Mahama can even be at Dagbon Yaa Naa outdooring ceremony for more than two hours and the GTV camera will not even pan for a second” he lamented.
The former Deputy Minister for Education is worried such practices are not healthy for Ghana’s democratic environment saying ” after twenty seven years of this fourth republican dispensation we are rather going back, in wanting to squeeze media freedom and stifle a section of the political divide, we cannot continue that way so I hope the state-owned media will change course and will be fair and balanced” he said.
It would be recalled that, some section of Ghanaians and party activists of the opposition NDC party criticized the country’s main broadcaster, GTV for allegedly “blacking out” flagbearer of the party, John Mahama at the Ghana at sixty-two anniversary and the Dagbon chieftaincy ceremony.
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