Martin Amidu is of the opinion that the decision to hold the Ghana Armed Forces recruitment exercise on November 12, describing it as an act of disrespect to the memory of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings.
According to Amidu, the date, the anniversary of Rawlings’ death, should have remained a solemn moment for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the country.
“The choice of 12 November 2025 for the GAF recruitment exercise by an NDC Government is particularly worrying for me,” he argued, calling Rawlings “the greatest President under the Fourth Republic Constitution.”
He stated that President Mahama and the military leadership “succeeded in debasing the day and denuding its significance for the NDC and the nation.”
Amidu emphasised that while the day is not a public holiday, it carries deep emotional and historical weight that should not be overlooked.
“If indeed John Mahama and the NDC respected and intended to eulogise the memory of the founder of the NDC, 12 November should not have been chosen,” he stressed.
The former OSP said he cannot understand why a party that claims Rawlings as its founder would allow such a symbolic lapse.
“What beats my understanding is how any person claiming to be committed to the NDC would fail or refuse to accept and honour the place of Jerry John Rawlings,” he said.
Amidu described the El-Wak stampede which resulted in multiple deaths, as an event that now marks a painful stain on a day that should have unified the party around Rawlings’ legacy.
He contrasted the tragedy with plans for a state funeral for Rawlings’ widow, questioning the inconsistency.
“How any caring government can sincerely be holding a state funeral for the spouse of Jerry John Rawlings on 28 November after sacrificing six healthy citizens on the anniversary of his death should be anybody’s guess,” he remarked.
