Gabby Otchere-Darko, a key politician in the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), does not understand the "fuss" made by former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo over the inclusion of retirees in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.
Mr. Otchere-Darko, a cousin of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said in a tweet on Sunday that while he sympathizes with people picketing, he doesn't understand why they want "to be excused from an upgraded offer program that is optional."
"Why picket over an offer you have the option not to accept?" he questioned.
According to him, the previous Chief Justice "erred significantly in her fundamental understanding of the issues."
"Rather than requesting an exemption from the government at this late hour, why did she not just exempt herself from trading her previous bond for the new one?"
"Why picket over something you don't like (the improved offer) when you have the option not to join up? Sorry, but I'm having trouble with her emotional outburst over-exemption! I hope she doesn't volunteer to picket tomorrow on the same concerns after the sign-up period has ended."
"For a former CJ to take up a good cause such as she did but at such a late hour when all was done and for all that exposure, she owed it to herself and her social status to have comprehended the problems considerably better than what she demonstrated last Friday. "She is much larger than that," he continued.
On Friday, February 10, 2023, the former Chief Justice joined a picket line at the Finance Ministry.
She denounced the government's action as "pure cruelty" and "outright disdain" for the elderly who had given their life for the nation's growth.
Madam Sophia Akuffo also urged the government to be honest and account to Ghanaians for the causes of the current economic crisis and the utilization of all loans.
She has vowed to take the government to court if it does not exempt seniors from the Domestic Debt Exchange Program.