Mustapha Gbande, the Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency, has said the petition submitted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during its “Democracy Under Attack” will not be read.
According to Mustapha Gbande, the NPP’s Democracy Under Attack” petition lacks merit and is unworthy of the government’s attention.
He argued that the John Dramani Mahama-led administration remains focused on governing the country and addressing the needs of Ghanaians.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM on Thursday, August 6, 2026, Gbande stated, “I’ll assume that they have successfully demonstrated. Nobody is hurt. The police have been law-abiding; they protected them quite apart from their waywardness and ensured that whatever they intended had finished.”
“Let me assure you that that petition they have submitted, nobody is going to have time to read it because it doesn’t make sense, and nobody is going to waste time. We have a nation to build. We have a country to build.”
Mustapha Gbande’s comments came shortly after the NPP presented its petition to the Presidency.
Meanwhile, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader, has expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s decision to assign only Presidential Staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah to receive its petition during the party’s “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the government’s decision to assign only Presidential Staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah to receive its petition is disrespectful to the party.
He argued that the NPP had sent its key leadership to present the petition as a sign of respect to the government.
Afenyo-Markin noted that the decision to send only Nana Yaa Jantuah to receive the document did not reflect the seriousness of the concerns raised by the party.
He highlighted that the delegation included the Minority leadership in Parliament, the NPP General Secretary, the Chief of Staff of the party’s flagbearer, the Chairman of the party’s Constitutional Committee, Members of Parliament and other senior party officials.
The minority added that the government’s action suggested that it did not attach importance to the issues raised by the demonstration.
Speaking during the presentation of the petition at the Presidency on Thursday, August 6, Mr Afenyo-Markin stated, “With great respect and without prejudice to your presence, to nominate only you to come amounts to disrespecting us as a political party”.
“But to disrespect our democracy by only nominating you to come, it means the government does not take seriously the great issues before us,” he stated.
However, Nana Yaa Jantuah has responded to Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin after he allegedly referred to her as a “nobody”.
Nana Yaa Jantuah, who received the petition on behalf of the Presidency, expressed her disappointment over the Minority Leader’s alleged remarks.
Addressing the demonstrators and the media, she stated, “I assure you that this petition is going to get to the President and this is democracy at work. If the NPP can come to the Flagstaff House to present its petition, then no one can say democracy is under attack.
“Everybody knows what today represents. Today is the memorial day for the eight gallant heroes who fell. I’m, however, surprised that an Honourable Leader would say that I am a nobody. I want to assure you that I am a senior member of government and this petition will be delivered directly to the President. They should also remember that in this country, there are laws put in place to regulate our lives and our conduct,” she said.
See the post below:
#DemocracyUnderAttackDemo: That petition they have submitted today, nobody is going to have time to read it, because it doesn't make sense and nobody is going to waste time, we have a nation to build.
— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) August 6, 2026
– Mustapha Gbande [National Dep. General Secretary, NDC] #JoyNews pic.twitter.com/OshAVGfAV0
@ghnow_ NPP Leadership Joined the “Democracy Under Attack” Demonstration earlier today #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ The NPP’s “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration took place earlier today, with thousands of party supporters, leaders, and Minority MPs taking to the streets to protest what they described as threats to Ghana’s democratic principles. The demonstration concluded with protesters presenting a petition at Jubilee House after a heavy police presence secured the area.
♬ original sound – GHnow
