A member of the National Communication Team of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Elikem Kotoko, and Founding President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe have demonstrated utmost maturity and tolerance as they clashed on Facebook.
Mr. Franklin Cudjoe who since December 2019 through his organization, IMANI Africa has led a relentless crusade for the public scrutiny of the activities of the Electoral Commission over its decision to compile a new voter register that IMANI Africa insisted was unjustified and a potential cause of financial loss to the state is now calling for the removal of the EC Chairperson, Jean Mensa if elections are not held of the SALL by March 2021.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Cudjoe said “The EC should hold elections for SALL by March 2021. Failure to do this, I will support a formal petition to remove the EC.” Mr. Cudjoe, a member of SALL has joined other prominent citizens from the area (Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi and Likpe) to drag the Electoral Commission to the Ho High Court for disenfranchising over 30,000 of them during the December 7, 2020 Parliamentary elections.
The EC’s decision to issue a statement on December 6, 2020 informing people in the area that they will not participate in the December 7, 2020 Parliamentary election, EC said was based on the fact that the area which until the December 2018 referendum was part of the Hohoe Constituency in the Volta Region has, however, became without any constituency after they were joined to the new Oti Region without any C.I. revoking their membership from Hohoe and adding them to a new constituency.
But in a sharp response to Mr. Cudjoe’s comment, the outspoken NDC communicator commented under Mr. Cudjoe’s post “So, per your logic, if any petition to remove the EC chair doesn’t serve your peculiar and particular self-interest, all other reasons are null and void, and not worth your signature. Well, then that’s same way others too may not join you because you mean to say, each one for himself, God for us all and they are not from SALL”
The response from Mr. Kotoko appears not to have gone down well with Mr. Cudjoe who came back to express his displeasure over Eleikem’s comment asking “Elikem Kotoko, which organisation has taken the EC on all its infractions? You?. Have you forgotten it was IMANI that waged the most relentless and positive war against the do-no-good EC?”
“I respect you so please act accordingly. You must even apologise for this careless comment.” – Mr. Cudjoe fired
Without any hesitation, Mr. Kotoko rendered an apology while explaining what he meant. Franklin Cudjoe on that score of having once fought the EC and on the additional grounds of do-no-good “war”, I apologize sia [translated I apologies Okay] But my only point is that, the inference was as though any petition minus SALL is null and void, the basis on which I said so. Megase veve o sia [translated no hard feeling]”
Mr. Cudjoe came back to accept the apology “I am very grateful. Eyes on the prize Novinye [translated Eyes on the prize my brother]. I must salute you for your activism even though it gets politically heated often.”
By: Efo Korsi Senyo / awakenewsroom.com