DCOP Opare Addo
Ashanti Regional Security Liaison Officer, DCOP Ayesu Opare Addo (Rtd), who was allegedly handcuffed in his office in Kumasi recently, occupied the office illegally, it has been announced.
According to the National Security Coordinator, Major General Francis Adu Amanfo (Rtd), DCOP Opare Addo failed to deliver in office so his mandate was not renewed when it expired, therefore he had no justification to be in the office.
The National Security Coordinator expressed concern about the behaviour of DCOP Opare Addo, indicating that all attempts to get him (Opare Addo) from office for his successor to take over had failed for some months now.
“He had no business being in that office because his four-year mandate had expired and it was not renewed,” Major General Adu Amanfo complained and said that DCOP Opare Addo’s resistance prevented the newly appointed person from working.
Speaking to journalists, he said “His contract expired and it was not renewed for him because of several factors including non-performance,” adding that DCOP Opare Addo’s strange behaviour has created a problem for National Security.
According to him, the National Security branch in the Ashanti Region could not perform as expected of them lately because DCOP Opare Addo was illegally occupying the office and therefore prevented the eligible new officer from working.
National Security
The National Security Ministry also fired back at their Ashanti Regional Security Liaison Officer, DCOP Ayesu Opare Addo, who they said has been occupying his office illegally, following the termination of his contract.
The National Security Secretariat then issued a rebuttal saying Mr. Opare Addo’s misdemeanour led to the termination of his contract as Ashanti Regional Security Liason Officer, and added that “he occupied the office illegally.”
“In the wake of his removal from office as Ashanti Regional Security Liaison Officer, DCOP Ayesu Opare Addo has waged a media war against the Ministry of National Security. And in his attempt to win the war, he has resorted to throwing barrages of allegations against the ministry while adopting a tactic of obfuscating the truth to gain public sympathy. The public, however, deserves to be served with the facts for truth to be deciphered from lies,” the statement said.
It explained that “key among his allegations which have been latched on by some media houses and a cross-section of the public is that his contract with the ministry had not expired when National Security operatives supposedly ousted him from office. The facts of the matter however, run contrary to Opare Addo’s claim.”
They said “DCOP Opare Addo’s contract with the ministry was terminated on February 19, 2021, following confirmation of allegations of gross misconduct and abuse of office. It is also interesting to note that, upon serving notice of termination of his contract, all other obligations including the payment of two weeks’ salary in lieu of notice as it pertained in his contract were fulfilled by the Ministry of National Security.
“It, therefore, smacks of dishonesty in the highest order for DCOP Opare Addo to have duly received a termination letter and two weeks’ salary to that effect, and still refuse to leave office.
“To further emphasise the reasons that warranted the termination of his contract, the Ministry of National Security constantly received reports of how DCOP Opare Addo had become a tin-god unto himself and had transformed his office into a theatre of anarchy to perpetuate criminal activities including the formation of an illegal taskforce that engaged in bribery and extortion in the Ashanti Region.
“More worrying was the fact that DCOP Opare Addo, for reasons best known to him alone, consistently failed to report to the National Security Coordinator as required from a Regional Security Liaison Officer. “With such an intransigent behaviour amounting to a clear dereliction of duty, and even threatening to undermine the security of the Ashanti Region while keeping superiors at the hierarchy of the National Security architecture in the dark, the ministry was left with no other option than to terminate his appointment.”
According to the ministry, “DCOP Opare Addo further claims his supposed exploits at keeping illegal mining activities at bay in the region led to his removal from office. Ironically, however, the evidence suggests that galamsey was at its highest during his reign as a Regional Security Liaison Officer. Perhaps, this revealing irony should lead to more inquisitions into the impunity he superintended in the Ashanti Region during his time as a Regional Security Liaison Officer.”
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi