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Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, Kobina Tahir (K.T) Hammond, has expressed disgust at how President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was booed at the recently held Global Citizen Festival.

In an interview with journalists shared by Accra-based Joy FM, the legislator argued that it was not right for the youth to disrespect the president and by extension elders in the society, especially for political reasons.

He urged the youth to at all times remain humble and accord the necessary respect to people who are advanced in age.

K. T Hammond added that the platform on which the president spoke was not a political one to warrant the reaction he had from some patrons of the event.

“We don’t live in a country and do that. Let’s be humble. Whatever we do, the president is the executive head of this country. When he came, he didn’t say anything. It wasn’t even a political platform.

“He only said the event has brought the attention of the world on Ghana and the youth started booing at him. We will always tell the youth to be humble. When a matter comes up, we say we are going to consult elders. We don’t say we are coming to consult the youth whose heads are like coconut.

“We consult the elderly on matters because they are wise. But because of politics, we do anything with the elderly. Let it even be a political platform that you can heckle but it wasn’t even a political rally.

“The youth should respect the elderly. We shouldn’t let it be that because of politics we can insult everyone. It’s not possible for the youth to be left to manage the affairs of the country.

“They won’t know how to do it in the first place. You don’t understand. You are galivanting about in this town with beard, nothing is in your heads,” he said in the Twi parlance.

President Akufo-Addo was among high dignitaries who graced the Global Citizen Festival which took place at the Black Square in Accra over the weekend.

When it was his turn to deliver a short presentation, a section of the crowd began to chant and clap ‘away,away….’.
The president remained calm and delivered his speech. Deputy Communications Officer of the New Patriotic Party Ernest Owusu Bempah has in a statement accused the opposition National Democratic Congress as orchestrating the plot to embarrass the president.

However, the NDC has rejected the accusation insisting that the booing was only an indication of the frustrations of Ghanaians.