General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, has stirred controversy with repeated attacks on Volta Youth joining New Patriotic Party (NPP) with remarks characterizing elections in Ghana as an “Ashanti-Ewe affair.”
During a tour of the Volta region with NDC flagbearer John Dramani Mahama, Kwetey urged people from the Volta Region to view every election in Ghana as a direct competition between Ashantis and Ewes.
Encouraging the people in the region to embrace the NDC as their political “religion,” Kwetey suggested that individuals should remain committed to their chosen political affiliation, regardless of its performance in government.
He emphasized that just as people in the Ashanti Region and, to some extent, the Eastern Region, support the NPP, there should be no stigma if those in the Volta Region support the NDC.
In a divisive statement, Kwetey declared, “Ghana politics is Ashanti vs. Ewes, and that is why as a Voltarian, you must take NDC like your religion.
Whether good or bad, you must stand by it and defend the party with your life.”
He expressed concern about the decreasing support for the NDC in the Volta Region as a result of Volta Youth joining NPP, noting that some youth in the region were shifting allegiance to other political parties.
He called it “shameful” and urged Voltarians to hold onto the political foundation that has shaped their culture.
This is not the first time Kwetey has made such ethnocentric comments.
In a previous instance, during a regional retreat for NDC executives in January 2023, he urged Voltarians to treat the party like a religion and worship it like “God.”
These remarks had already received widespread condemnation.
The comments have sparked criticism from various quarters, with the NPP Volta Regional Chairman,
Makafui Woanya, rejecting the notion of blind allegiance to a political party. Woanya emphasized that the NPP would depend on its achievements in the region to win the support of the people.
The majority caucus in parliament also condemned Kwetey’s comments, with Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the Majority Chief Whip, expressing shock and disappointment.
He urged against taking the country’s ethnic and religious tolerance for granted and called on Kwetey to retract his statement.
