Mahama's tenure was bad too, no need for coup comments against Akufo-Addo's government - Derek Oduro

Former Deputy Defence Minister, Major (Rtd.) Derek Oduro, has ruled out any attempt for coup d’états over the current economic crisis facing Ghanaians.

According to him, John Dramani Mahama-led administration also performed abysmally in the handling of the economy but nobody attempted any coup.

In an interview on Joy News programme ‘Upfront’ on August 11,

Read full articlehe said the former president’s tenure was characterized by an intermittent power supply (dumsor) and skyrocketing prices of food items to the extent that people got fed up with him.

Major (Rtd) Derek Oduro said, the current economic crisis cannot be described as unprecedented as the country has gone through a worse experience under various military regimes.

“There’s nothing unprecedented about this situation. We are all in this country, at least we are grown. We have had the occasion to observe the period when PNDC was in power; when AFRC was also in power…a situation where essential goods were so scarce in the market. You couldn’t even get anything. People were moving from here to Togo to go and buy common soap, sugar to use themselves.

“We have had a situation even currently before the new government came in, President Mahama’s situation also went so bad. There was ‘dumsor’, no jobs, food prices were so high and people were fed up. So this situation, we mustn't regard it as unprecedented because we have food in abundance in the country, only the prices have gone high in the urban areas, not in the villages,” he said.

The former Nkoranza North Member of Parliament on the ticket of NPP also shot down rife conversations suggesting a coup d’état.

He stated that the government was working assiduously in order to resolve the challenges adding that people should disabuse their minds of a military takeover.

He maintained that the current military personnel are people who have acquired higher levels of education and won’t heed calls for coup d’état.

“We are all aware of the situation that the economy is very bad. Now, it is a result of what all of us know. Government is taking steps to solve the problem. We have to make our own homegrown solutions. Expenditure cuts, steps to secure funds from outside to support the budget, fuel prices are being managed now. It’s going up and coming down. Government is doing all things possible to solve the problem. This does not call for any coup d’états.

“What happened those days when Kwame Nkrumah was overthrown is quite different from what is happening. Now people are up in their minds. People know now you cannot even convince soldiers that they should go and stage a coup because the economic situation in the country is not the best. You cannot convince them. They are highly educated and highly professional unlike before you can convince anybody,” he said.

TWI NEWS

The economy has in recent times witnessed a downturn following what government says is a result of the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

It has thus initiated contacts with the International Monetary Fund for a programme to help restore the country on the path of recovery.

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