The presence of military personnel across the country’ border towns, including the Volta and Oti regions, appears a monster to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) which have since cried foul.
The NDC claim residents of the Volta and Oti regions are being intimidated by the presence of the soldiers, but the government has refuted such a claim, stating that it was mere propaganda by the opposition.
Yesterday, the opposition party, led by its Communications Directorate, held a press conference in Aflao to register their displeasure over the soldiers in the regions.
The media was addressed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ketu South, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, who said the governing party had held a long-standing notion that Voltarians are not Ghanaians, resulting in the government’s decision to deploy soldiers to the area, ahead of the voters’ registration exercise, which starts today.
The government has come out to explain that the military was in the region to police the borders to prevent people from entering the country at this time when the borders are closed as a result of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
But, in his address at a press briefing on Monday, Fifi Kwetey downplayed the explanation, saying that the government should not to insult the intelligence of Ghanaians.
Fifi Kwetey maintained that the government’s decision to send troops to the area was mainly to disenfranchise residents of Ketu South.
“One of the first Covid-19 cases we recorded in Ghana was in the Presidential entourage in Oslo. So, this official reason being provided is not just hollow, it is laughable and represents an insult to the intelligence of our people.
“The total Covid-19 case count in Togo stands at about 615, which is less than the Greater Accra, Ashanti Region, Western Region, Central Region, and just about 75 cases above the case count in the Eastern Region.
“So, if there’s any fear of Covid-19, it should rather be the people of Togo who should be afraid of Ghanaians crossing the border to spread Covid-19 in Togo, and not the other way round,” he stressed.
He continued: “If the NPP government is looking for the real threat of Covid-19, they don’t have to look very far, so they should spare us the cock and bull story about the need to patrol the borders to stop foreigners from coming into the country, but have the courage to tell us the truth for once.”
According to the NDC, the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is obsessed with power and has always demonstrated by clamping down on people who do not stand with them.
“This siege in the Volta Region dates back to NPP’s perennial hatred towards any group of people they perceive as standing between them and their insatiable desire for absolute political power,” he emphasised.
On the other hand, the flagbearer of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama, in a statement, condemned the deployment of military personnel to the Volta, Oti, Upper East, and Upper West regions.
Mr Mahama poked at what he described as “the unexplained security deployments to these border regions,” saying it “have clearly been timed to coincide with the commencement of the voter registration exercise across the country.”
He believed that the singling out of the Volta, Oti and other regions for this kind of attack must be condemned by all.
“We (NDC) cannot remain silent while a part of our country is marginalised on account of political calculation.”
The founder of the NDC, who is former President Jerry John Rawlings aka Mr. ‘Boom’, in a statement, indicated that the presence of the military and other security agencies was generating animosity, especially amongst innocent citizens whose basic way of life was being disrupted.
“The deployment along the borders at peacetime, especially at this particular point in time, has created so much suspicion, and will call for a lot of intelligent flexibility and diligence.
“Ahead of the voter registration exercise and the December elections, it is important that we demonstrate a sense of fairness and justice to all individuals and groups of people, whilst maintaining the integrity and the sanctity of the process,” Mr ‘Boom’ said.
The post Soldiers in Volta scare NDC appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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