The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament, has commended Presidential Staffer, Clara Napaga Tia Sulemana for the huge role she played leading to the resignation of her former colleague in government and Deputy Agric Minister, William Quaitoo on Tuesday.
Ms Clara Napaga Tia Sulemana, publicly condemned the former deputy Minister’s ethnocentric comment when he described farmers from the North who are demanding compensation for their crops destroyed by the army worm invasion as people who cannot be trusted and have intentions to defraud the government.
He said “the people of the North are difficult people, I lived with them, and I know them. This is just to take money from the Government.”
However, Mr. Quaitoo apologized after he was heavily criticized by residents in the Northern Region.
But, Clara Napaga Tia Sulemana who was the first government official to speak on the matter, who herself is a proud Dagomba royal, insisted that the apology offered by Hon. Quaitoo was not enough for an offense such as insulting an ethnic group.
In a Facebook post Monday, Miss Tia Sulemana, said Hon. Quaitoo’s utterances was befuddling.
“So, here I am in bed, just struggling with myself to understand why on earth a deputy minister of state will look at the people who hosted him almost all his life(27 yrs) according to him, in the face and tell us we are difficult people and also that we lie to extort money from government. I am very sure this was said without any evidence,” her statement read in part.
The NDC Minority who called for Hon. Quaitoo’s sack on Monday, have patted the Presidential Staffer on the back for not being partisan and maintained her positive stance on such ethnocentric comment which has the potential of destablizing the country’s peace.
Speaking on TV 3 News Tuesday night, Spokesperson for the NDC Minority and MP for Sagnerigu, A.B.A Fuseini commended the young Presidential Staffer for her principled stance on the matter.
“I want to salute some very important people who contributed to getting us where we’ve arrived today with the Deputy Minister’s resignation and as I’ve said it was not a partisan matter. I salute one of the very diligent princesses of Dagbon, Napaga Tia Sulemana, for the role she played in this matter and to anchor it on the pedestal that this is beyond party politics, that when you insult the sensibilities of a people irrespective of your political affiliation and the closeness of her as an ally, being in the same political party,we’ll not take that.
“I’ve said that our democracy will even be stronger if in our own parties we can send the signal to people who err so grievously to the point that they can compromise the peace order and stability of our nation, that we’ll not countenance such comments. If all of us can stand and look at this statement without any partisan lenses and ensure that the right thing is done, I’m sure that we’ll further our democratic process.”
