According to a report by CNR, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Nii Ayikoi Otoo, has called attention to what he describes as NDC’s strategic missteps and excessive public commentary.
His comments were made during an interview on Eyewitness News on Friday, October 18, 2024, where he outlined how the NDC’s lack of strategic discretion had worked to the advantage of their opponents in the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to Ayikoi Otoo, the NDC’s habit of revealing their plans and strategies through public statements has consistently allowed the NPP to stay ahead, preparing themselves to effectively counter the opposition’s moves.
One of the key points Otoo raised in his critique was the NDC’s tendency to speak prematurely about their plans, a habit that has proven to be counterproductive.
“They were in the media talking about all those issues instead of keeping quiet and doing their things in the Chamber,” Otoo remarked.
He noted that by the time the party was ready to bring certain issues to the floor for deliberation, their plans were already well known to their opponents, giving the NPP ample time to prepare effective countermeasures.
Otoo referenced a recent example involving the Speaker of Parliament’s ruling that declared four seats in Parliament vacant.
According to him, even before the matter was officially brought up for deliberation, the NDC had already been vocal on political platforms about their intention to remove the four affected MPs from Parliament.
Otoo further explained the NPP’s legal strategy in this situation, pointing out that the swift attention the Supreme Court gave to this particular case was not unusual, given the nature of the legal action involved.
He clarified that the case in question was an ex parte application, which requires immediate attention because it is filed by one party without notifying the other.
Addressing the NDC’s apparent frustration with the Supreme Court’s swift intervention, Otoo suggested that the opposition party had underestimated the NPP’s ability to use legal channels to protect their interests.
“I think I will take this opportunity to advise the NDC, I think they shot themselves in the foot by talking too much,” he remarked.
“You talk about strategies and tactics and I think it is lost on them [NDC] completely and they were doing things, which really frightened the Majority and pushed them into trying to protect whatever.”
“We [NDC] are going to amend laws, change this… just keep quiet and do your thing, at the end of the day, when you get whatever you want to get fine.”
“Anything you want to do think about your strategy and tactics and stop making too much noise. The noise was such that when you frighten somebody, the basic instinct of a man is to protect his life and to survive. All the things they [NDC] did, compelled the Majority to take this decision they have taken.”