A Former President of Ghana has urged diplomacy in the resolution of impasse involving National Communications Authority (NCA) and two radio stations recently shut down.

The radio stations, XYZ and Radio Gold, were shut down for operating without valid authorisation.

Wading into the debacle, John Agyekum Kufour said the NCA cannot be faulted if it acted in furtherance of the law. 

“Was the closure done on some law? If it was done because of the enforcement of some law then we have to be careful we do not push politics into this matter too deeply.”

Officials of the NCA stormed the premises of the aforementioned radio stations with armed security personnel and ordered their immediate closure.

The action, according to the NCA, was aimed at enforcing a decision of the Electronic Communications Tribunal which includes closing down radio stations operating without valid authorisations.

The decision has since ignited boisterous public reaction. According to leading lights in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), the decision smells of political interference.

“What NCA did, has political connotation,” a former presidential hopeful of the NDC, Sylvester Mensah alleged.

“There is a difference between legitimate enforcement of regulation and politically motivated enforcement of legislation.

“It is quite obvious that government is calling for civil disobedience,” he advanced 

Read more: Radio Gold, XYZ shut down: NCA being too harsh- GIBA

Also read: Review Radio Gold, XYZ shut down - GJA to NCA

But the former president, John Agyekum Kufuor, who is noted for his diplomacy and gentle demeanor, has called for calm.  

“In these matters, posturing does not help,” he admonished

He has called on the affected parties and their supporters “to work behind the scenes to resolve the impasse.

“If there are people who consider themselves victims, whether the operating companies or those who consider them as supportive outlets, let them use diplomacy and tact to find solutions,” he noted.