The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, has called on media practitioners to help sanitise the airwaves of political insults.
He bemoaned the politics of insults, which he said had gained ground in the media daily, and called on media practitioners not to give room for people to insult others in the name of politics. "I entreat the media to come together and wage a crusade against persons with the penchant of hurling insults on their political opponents," he said, stressing that doing so would help tone down the political temperature and safeguard the nation's peace and security.
Appiah, popularly known as COKA, made the call when he interacted with a section of the media in Kumasi last Saturday. The purpose of the encounter was to thank journalists and court their support for the newly elected regional executives in discharging their duties.
He said the party's communicators had been cautioned against engaging in the politics of insults, adding, "If you want to have a good political life, then you must desist from politics of insults."
Appiah urged the hosts of political shows on radio and television stations to work closely with the region's director of communications to ensure that rightfully appointed communicators appear on their shows. He explained that the move was to ensure that communicators with the requisite knowledge in the areas under discussion were assigned to propagate the party's position on matters of national importance. "We want to work effectively with the media to improve political discourse within the region. As a result, we call for the needed cooperation and assistance from the media in this regard," he said.
He said the party's regional leadership would build a mutually beneficial partnership with the media to promote the party's alternative policies and programmes ahead of the 2028 general election, arguing that without the involvement of the media, the party could not effectively communicate its policy alternatives to the citizenry. "It is through your platforms that we can sell our messages to win back the hearts of Ghanaians," he said.
He stressed that the media was indispensable in the country's political ecosystem, saying the new leadership revered the media and would continue to work with them in the interest of the party.
