The Convenor of the People’s Project, A-Plus, born Kwame Asare Obeng has clarified that the decision to sue the National Communication Authority (NCA) over the sim card blockage is not to oppose the ongoing sim card re-registration exercise.
According to the controversial political and social activist, his camp took the steps because they deemed the NCA’s approach to the exercise as narrow making it unsmooth for Ghanaians.
A-Plus and associates of the People’s Project on Friday, September 9, 2022, sued the NCA and the Attorney General (AG) at the Supreme Court for blocking unregistered sim cards.
They want the court to declare the NCA’s directives of blocking sim cards due to failure to meet the deadline date as unconstitutional, null, void, and of no legal effect.
The plaintiff noted that the NIA has not been able to issue the Ghana card which is the only card to be used for re-registration of all Ghanaians making it arbitrary, capricious, and amounts to abuse of discretion.
It is also seeking an interlocutory injunction to restrain the NCA’s directives that all unregistered SIM Cards will be cancelled by the deadline of September 30, 2022, among other punitive measures by the Authority.
Explaining the rationale behind their legal action on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofo morning show, A-Plus said although they supported the sim card re-registration the plight of the ordinary Ghanaians must be considered.
“We [the People’s Project] support the sim card re-registration that is underway, and it is not that we are against it but the first and foremost thing we support is that the people of this country will be relieved.
“So, we support the people to embark on the exercise, but the government should make the process like how the Electoral Commission does the Voters ID before elections that allow each and everyone to bear one for voting,” he told Kwamina Sam Biney, host of the show.
A-Plus could not comprehend why the government in its capacity is unable to issue the Ghana Card for so many years meanwhile they can do so with national voters’ cards within a short period during elections and was rather quick to resort to blocking Sim cards.
The veteran hiplife artiste furthered and urged the government through the NCA to be proactive in the issuance of the Ghana card to allow the general public to partake in the exercise smoothly without any obstacle.
The ‘Aben Be Bom’ hitmaker encouraged the general public, especially those having their Ghana Card at hand to patronize the exercise and help the government achieve its intended purpose of eradicating fraudulent activities in the country.
He seized the opportunity and asked the government to also exercise some level of moderation in its dealings because the mobile phones business in Ghana has now become “people’s bank,”
