Leaders of the various political parties at the Jubilee House
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo today, Friday April 3, met with the leadership of the various political parties at Jubilee House to discuss how best they can team up in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The President said, having met with various stakeholders and held discussions on how to fight the pandemic, he deemed it important to also meet leaders of the political parties.
“And, it is essentially for us to have an opportunity to exchange information with each other and, more than anything else, to agree on the measures that we can take, as political leaders, to ensure the unity of our nation in this critical time and to stress the need for solidarity amongst ourselves,” he said.
No party colour
President Akufo-Ado indicated that examples around the globe have shown that the disease has no political colour.
“It doesn’t know Democrats or Republicans or Tories or Labour or NDC or NPP. It is attacking human beings and that recognition is what should drive our collective responses, as a people, to this pandemic,” the President stated.
He said even though many political actors, including himself, are not experts nor doctors to give the origins of the disease, “we are community leaders; we are political leaders and the threat with this viruses is a threat to our community, our society, to our nation and we should be able, collectively, to find an input as to the measures that, on a basic societal basis, can be taken to arrest the spread and ultimately defeat this pandemic.”
Broad support
The political parties pledged their support to the President for the Covid-19 fight.
“Everything that you have been doing, we have been following – your programmes and steps that you have been doing. We want to say, continue Mr President…and the whole world is watching us and whatever you have been doing is being appreciated,” Mr Freddy Blay, National Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party, said.
Representing the National Democratic Party, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings described the actions taken by President Akufo-Addo as timely and helpful, and asked her colleagues to also play their part to help reduce the public scare associated with the disease.
Also present included Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, National Chairman of the main opposition National Democratic Congress; Bridgette Dzogbenuku, of the Progressive People’s Party; Dr Edward Mahama, of the People’s National Congress; John Boadu, NPP General Secretary; and James Kwabena Bomfeh, General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party.
