BoG protest: Addison incurs wrath of Ghanaians for describing protesters as ‘hooligans’

Ghanaians have taken a swipe at the Governor of Ghana’s Central Bank, Dr. Ernest Addison for describing protesters who on Tuesday, October 3, 2023 demonstrated against his leadership, and subsequently demanded his resignation.

Dr Addison has been quoted by a portal, centralbanking.com to have said in an interview that he would not resign from his position following the Minority’s protest to demand his resignation on Tuesday.

The website quoted the BoG Governor as saying “the demonstration yesterday was completely unnecessary”, adding that neither him nor his deputies will leave their jobs.

He is further quoted to have called the demonstrators as hooligans who should have known how to better address their grievances.

“The Minority in parliament has many channels to channel their grievances”, Dr. Addison is further quoted by the website.

But some Ghanaians including a political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo says Dr Addisons’s comment was uncalled for.

He has criticized the “arrogant” attitude and response of the Governor, to protesters of the OccupyBoG movement.

In an open letter to the BoG Governor, Prof. Gyampo said, “whether you resign or not, you would by all means, account one day, for your stewardship either in heaven or in hell or in prison or in your home.”

“One thing is certain to me and must be clear in the minds of all if we survive 2024, the conduct of governance, politics and the management of our economy wouldn’t be business as usual. Things would change to the glory of God, for the betterment of lives of Ghanaians, and to the shame of wicked and incompetent leadership.”

Mr. Gyampo in the letter also said that the Governor spent about GH¢137 million on vehicle maintenance; collapsed over 400 banks and micro-finance companies; printed over GH¢700 trillion within 2 years; and depleted our foreign reserves.

“Yet you still want to determine how the tax payer reacts to your decision to choose excessive partisanship over competence?”

He said Dr. Addison’s attitude and response epitomized what his father referred to as impunity personified as the President and the Finance Minister had similarly received several calls for their resignation but had not responded arrogantly as the governor had.

“Please Governor, printing money does not make you owner of human life and human rights and respectfully, sir, you portray a certain high-level poverty, if all you have, is the money you have printed, which makes you arrogant in insulting taxpayers who are unhappy with your abysmal performance. This isn’t how Governors G.K Agamah, K. Dufuor, P. Acquah, and N. Ishahakku handled the BoG. These chaps were simply sober and competent,” he added.

On his part, Bawku Central Member of Parliament (MP) , Mahama Ayariga has also described comments, Dr Addison condemning calls for his resignation and his description of protestors as hooligans as “loose talk” and provocative.

Mr Ayariga, said, he was surprised at Dr Addison’s behaviour since the Minority was civil in their demand for his resignation.

He warned that there was even more to come to pile pressure on Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies to resign.

“We have been very civil in our approach, to have the governor call us hooligans is clearly provocative and I have no doubt that going into the future, we might not be easily restrained when we come after the governor and his deputies.

“We did everything within the rules, we spoke to the police, met the police, the police took us to court, we complied and the demonstration was peaceful yet the central bank governor called us hooligans because we were being very nice – well, I have said it and I can assure him that since he has officially tagged us as hooligans, we will see how our future protests will look like,” he added.

“We have been very civil in our approach, to have the governor call us hooligans is clearly provocative and I have no doubt that going into the future, we might not be easily restrained when we come after the governor and his deputies.

“We did everything within the rules, we spoke to the police, met the police, the police took us to court, we complied and the demonstration was peaceful yet the central bank governor called us hooligans because we were being very nice – well, I have said it and I can assure him that since he has officially tagged us as hooligans, we will see how our future protests will look like,” he added.

He also said he would refer the governor to the Special Prosecutor for allegedly inflating the contract for the construction of the controversial new central bank headquarters for his personal gain.

Story: Today.com.gh/Todaynewspaper/Yaw Takyi