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A retired military officer, Colonel Rtd. Festus Aboagye has questioned the relevance of deploying Military personnel to guard high ranking government officials.
Speaking in an interview with JoyNews, the former army officer indicated that, the practice of allowing active Military personnel to offer security services to state assigns and functionaries is alien and inappropriate; and must be discarded.
“I am very well informed from sources close to the former Right Honourable Speaker, Doe Adjaho, that in this 4th Republic, this is the first time since 2021, which the Right Honourable Speaker has been given that facility of a Military security detail. It’s never happened. So this is something that I think the political class, or the civilian class don’t understand.
There are procedures and there are mechanisms. Unless you declare a state of emergency of sort, you cannot whimsically, capriciously, be assigning the armed forces to undertake certain functions. So ordinarily, the Ghana Police Service with the exception of the President, everybody else who requires security, must be protected by the Ghana Police Service.
However, if there’s a situation of emergency, a security situation, whether externally induced or internally induced, based upon the state of emergency, the President by Executive Order can order that certain entities must be given Military protection.
“We have seen the EC and the Attorney-General and certain lawyers being escorted by the military, it is highly inappropriate. It is not democratic”, Colonel (Rtd.)Aboagye said.
The retired army Colonel made these comments in connection with a leaked document from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) directing the withdrawal of 4 soldiers from the Office of the Speaker of Parliament.
In a letter dated January 11, 2021, the Chief of Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. N. P. Andoh said, WOII Apugiba Awine David, S/Sgt Agbley Prosper, WO1 Jafaru Bunwura and Sgt. Bonney Prince’s attachment to Mr. Bagbin’s office, since he assumed office on January 7, last year, is improper.
Following this development, a section of Ghanaians, including the Minority Caucus and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), have criticized the Ghana Armed Forces for being bias and discriminatory.
Speaking in an interview with JoyNews, Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, indicated that the decision by the GAF will affect efforts towards building consensus between the executive and the legislature.
“The action is not only cruel and discriminatory, but does not augur well for the unity of the State and for the stability of the Republic. I am utterly disappointed in the Armed Forces who ought to live above reproach and utterly disappointed in the Minister for Defence and the Executive President for sanctioning such an action. For what political gain? It’s not healthy for our democracy and not when you are seeking to build consensus, you engage in this show of brute force, it is ugly for our democracy”. You expect that tomorrow, you would come build consensus, consensus with whom?”, he stated.
Meanwhile, the Majority in Parliament have accused the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, of being unappreciative of the gestures extended to him by government. The Speaker, they stated has four Police officers in his known residence, three Police officers in his secretariat and five other Policemen in and around the Speaker’s office block.
“Indeed, none of the previous Speakers had half of the Police cover as has been accorded Rt. Hon. Bagbin. It must be emphasised for the record that Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has been served with the largest number of security personnel for his protection that none of the previous Speakers had,” the Majority Caucus said.
Source: myJoy
