Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma South Fritz Baffour has asked fellow National Democratic Congress (NDC) members to desist from criticising the new government following a row over plagiarism.

President Nana Akufo-Addo’s inaugural speech contained several quotes made by leaders from other parts of the world which were not referenced.

The communications team at the presidency has since apologised, indicating that it was an oversight.

Commenting on the issue, the communications consultant said he listened to “our new president's speech, without fear or favour, I have always been impressed by Nana Akufo-Addo's eloquence and immaculate command of the English language”, continuing: “As a patriot and nationalist, I am energised when a fellow citizen excels on any front. Nana was on top form and the event itself was hailed by many who attended as a marvellous exercise.”

The former Information Minister indicated on his Facebook wall on Monday, January 9 that he was “downcast” when he found out that “ portions of the very inspiring inaugural speech had been borrowed from previous ones, made by several American ex-presidents, amid shouts of ‘plagiarism, plagiarism’, by the sorely wounded wolves of the opposition”.

He observed that for many who are opponents of the NPP, it would seem that "payback time" had arrived to many who believed that the taunts of "incompetence" hurled at the previous government by the new one during the acrimonious election campaign could now be avenged.

“I am a dyed-in-the-wool NDC member and should be chuffed at this ‘faux pas’ of grand proportions, but I am not, because this is not the time for sniggering and settling old scores. This is a time for our country to move on. Let us see what the NPP government can do over the next four years of their mandate with the many promises made during the campaign,” he added.

He charged members and supporters of the NDC, who are now in opposition, to work towards reorganising themselves to win back power during the elections in 2020.

“On the part of the NDC, I expect us to be focused on reorganising our rank and file into a formidable force that can match the NPP, boot for boot, come 2020. We must not be overly side-tracked by these mundane sorties, lest we lose the plot. I strongly believe we have the human capital and ability to come good in four years if we are clear-headed about our priorities. That said, Ghanaians should be more meticulous and avoid nit-picking when it comes to the written word and small print,” he added.



Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com