'Nobody' row exposes deepening political divide in Ghana

A senior aide to Ghana's President John Mahama has accused the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) of disrespecting women and undermining the presidency after party leaders objected to her receiving a petition following a nationwide protest.

Nana Yaa Akyenpim Jantuah , a Presidential Staffer said she had been instructed by President Mahama to receive the petition on his behalf after he and other senior government officials attended a national memorial service marking one year since the military helicopter crash that killed eight state officials.

The petition was presented after the NPP's "Democracy Under Attack" demonstration at the Jubilee House on Thursday.

Speaking to Asempa FM, Ms Jantuah said she was surprised when opposition leaders declined to hand the petition directly to her.

"When I was going to meet them, I thought I was going to meet my friends," she said, adding that she saw senior NPP officials protesting her role but chose not to respond because she was representing the president.

"I kept quiet because I was standing there in the stead of the President of the Republic of Ghana," she said.

Her comments came after Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin criticised the Presidency for assigning her to receive the petition, reportedly describing her as "a nobody" and questioning why a more senior government official had not been present.

Ms Jantuah rejected the remarks, saying they amounted to an insult not only to her but also to President Mahama, who had designated her to act on his behalf.

"It was the President who nominated me to go and receive the petition," she said. "By calling me 'a nobody', he is insulting the President."

She also accused the NPP of demanding respect while failing to show it to others, particularly women in public office.

"The NPP wants respect, but they do not know how to give respect, especially to women," she said.

Ms Jantuah further questioned the validity of the petition, alleging that the copy presented to the Presidency did not bear a signature, although she accepted it without raising objections at the time.

The exchange has added to growing political tensions between the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition NPP, which says Thursday's demonstration was intended to highlight what it describes as threats to Ghana's democratic institutions.

The Presidency has not commented further on the dispute, while the NPP has yet to publicly respond to Ms Jantuah's latest remarks.