Montie 3: Oye Lithur must resign - Group

Nana Oye-Lithur

 A group calling itself Women of Faith and Substance (WOFAS) has called on the minister of gender and social protection, Nana Oye-Lithur, to resign, having signed a petition to pardon the Montie 3.

Oye Lithur is among a host of ministers and government appointees who have assented to a petition urging President John Mahama to pardon the jailed Montie three - Alistair Nelson, Godwin Ako Gunn and Salifu Maase alias ‘Mugabe’. The trio are in jail for desecrating the Supreme Court of Ghana and will be out of jail around November 2016.


WOFAS in a statement said the gender minister should have gone to the defense of the Chief Justice Georgina Wood whose life came under threat during the radio discussion, but has rather sided with the convicted contemnors.

“What we find disappointingly heartrending is the decision of the gender minister to sign for the release of the criminals who are hell-bent to eliminate the Chief Justice off the face of the earth. It is disgusting, putting it mildly, to see Oye-Lithur displaying such an oafish posture which is at variance with the advocacy she used to loudly and vehemently run for women before this position she occupies now. In our view, she has lost the moral authority to head the Gender Ministry with her conduct in this particular issue and must resign,” leaders of the group said in a statement.

Below is the full unedited statement:

NANA OYE LITHUR MUST RESIGN!
It goes without saying that the Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Woode, has been left in the lurch by the very person whose duty it is to stand up and shield her from any attack that may emanate from a section of the public.

Nana Oye-Lithur signing the petition

 The recent spate of attacks and threats to the very existence of the fourth most powerful personality in the country, and arguably, the most powerful woman around, have been treated with undeserved disdain by the minister of gender and social protection, Nana Oye-Lithur.

It is needless for us to bombard Ghanaians once again with the hideously distasteful words employed by the incarcerated Montie gang to threaten the Chief Justice, but what we find extremely difficult to fathom is the failure of Oye-Lithur, the woman charged with the responsibility of overseeing the interests of women, to not only condemn these never-ending attacks and threats on the Chief Justice, but also organize series of demonstrations with the sole intention to press home the ministry's aversion to such abhorrent behavioural attitudes. These core duties, strangely enough, have been overlooked by Nana Oye-Lithur! The rather deafening silence of the gender minister in the face of these threats to the life of the CJ is puzzling, to say the least!

In an ideal situation, these graphic descriptions and threats of mayhem to the life of the Chief Justice should have been ruthlessly tackled and dealt with, but for whatever reason, Nana Oye-Lithur finds it ideal to offer protection for the criminals who nurtured these inhumane thoughts.

Nana Oye-Lithur, it could be recalled, issued a statement to publicly condemn and chastise Hon.Ken Ohene Agyepong when he was alleged to have made a comment to the effect that the chairperson of the EC couldn't have got her position based on competence but on another reason altogether. She went further to organize demonstrations against the Assin Central MP over the same issue. No sooner had this episode ended than the Montie gang threatened to rape and assassinate the Chief Justice, but Nana Oye-Lithur has conveniently sidestepped this all-important matter which has assumed international headlines.

In her haste to criticize Hon.Kennedy Agyepong when he allegedly made comments which slighted the chairperson of the EC, Nana Oye-Lithur had this to say,

Women of Ghana will not countenance such comments and personal attacks on women who have committed to serve Ghana in public office

Her reaction to these threats and attacks on these Justices of the Supreme Court is hypocritical.

What we find disappointingly heartrending is the decision of the gender minister to sign for the release of the criminals who are hell-bent to eliminate the Chief Justice off the face of the earth. It is disgusting, putting it mildly, to see Oye-Lithur displaying such an oafish posture which is at variance with the advocacy she used to loudly and vehemently run for women before this position she occupies now. In our view, she has lost the moral authority to head the Gender Ministry with her conduct in this particular issue and must resign.

Women of Faith and Substance use this medium to appeal to all women's groups to rally round the Chief Justice in these trying times. Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood needs our support and protection at a time the Mahama administration in general, and the gender minister specifically, have marooned her! We must not fail our fellow woman! Let's rise up and shield the Chief Justice now!

Whilst we fervently appeal to well meaning Ghanaian women to solidarize with the Chief Justice and Justice Sophia Akuffo over these senseless attacks on their persons, we are seizing this opportunity to ask Oye-Lithur to take a backseat as she has proven beyond reasonable doubt that she is a walking disaster being the woman in charge of such a sensitive outfit! She is too biased to hold such a post. In any serious jurisdiction, such a woman would have been sidelined from the corridors of power. Oye-Lithur, bow out voluntarily if the president has no balls to do so!


Spokespersons:

Gifty Oware
Jennifer Queen
Hassanatu Darkey
Olivia Quartey
Nana Afua

Source: emmanueldonkorgh.blogspot.com