A former UN Senior Governance Advisor, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has urged the National Peace Council to publicly denounce individuals whose comments pose a danger to Ghanaians.

According to him, the Peace Council should be more proactive in addressing such issues, and that their work should not be conducted in secrecy.

“There’s nothing wrong coming publicly to say this public official has erred, we need to stop that. We need to name and shame people.

• Read also: I sympathise with NDC’s concern but don’t align with their conditions – Prof Agyeman-Duah

“There are instances that we don’t want to go public with names, I agree. He however says action must be taken when the comments pose a threat to the wider populace.

“But a case where somebody stands publicly to speak fire and threaten all of us,” [Action must be taken].

He said this on JoyNews' UpFront on Wednesday, August 21.

Prof Agyeman-Duah said that, historically, every government has respected the country's democratic process by peacefully stepping down when defeated.
Therefore, he said any insistence on holding onto power by any means is unacceptable.

“So I think this is an instance that the Peace Council in my humble view should come out to publicly pronounce on it because if we do that, then we will be deterring others who may want to come and speak recklessly in public, we don’t need to tolerate that,” he said.

Prof Agyeman-Duah also noted that while some negotiations and actions can take place behind closed doors, especially when seeking results, the Peace Council should have the courage to openly stand against public statements that put Ghanaians at risk.

His comment comes after a Member of Parliament and Minister of State Bryan Acheampong stated on a campaign platform that the NPP will win the elections by all means, and dared the NDC ‘to go and burn the sea’ if it disagrees.

While the NDC has condemned the action, the NPP has not officially criticised the MP. The NDC's National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia has hinted the party may not sign the peace declaration for this year's election unless there's a commitment to peace and justice by all relevant stakeholders.