Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has called upon the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to ensure alignment between the party's stance and the positions held by its officials regarding the recent assault on UTV by certain party members.

During an interview on Peace FM, the minister emphasised the need for the party's leadership to take corrective measures against officials who have expressed support for the attack, despite the party's official condemnation of it.

“If the party is punishing people for behaviour inconsistent with the laws of the party or the nation and a member of the party expresses support for such behaviour, I believe it is something that the leadership should also look at.

"Because there must be consistency in the party’s approach. Just as there is consistency in the approach of the party and government in condemning the incident, it is the same way I believe the party leadership should also make sure that there is consistency between those positions and the views expressed by the members of the party,” he stated.

The minister underscored that although party members are entitled to hold varying perspectives on the issue, it is the responsibility of party officials to uphold the party's official stance on matters. Those who fail to do so should face appropriate consequences.

Background

A group of NPP members stormed the studios of UTV during the broadcast of United Showbiz on Saturday, October 7, 2023, demanding the regular pundit of the show, Kwame Asare Obeng alias A Plus.

The group, said to be unhappy with A Plus shredding a letter by the leadership of the NPP to the management of UTV calling for a reform of United Showbiz, is said to have assaulted some staff of the media company before making their way into the studios.

Subsequently, the police disclosed the apprehension of 16 individuals linked to the assault. This event has garnered broad condemnation from political activists and diverse critics who have characterised it as a direct assault on both media freedom and freedom of speech.

In a statement by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), as issued by its Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, the party has unequivocally denounced the incident. It emphatically stressed that the party neither authorised nor supported the attack on UTV.