John Mahama
Former President John Dramani Mahama has made a sensational claim to the effect that the National Security is behind the so-called secessionist activities in the Volta Region.
Without any proof, the former President said the violence was engineered by the National Security as part of a grand plan by the ruling NPP to suppress votes in the Volta Region, which is the stronghold his party the NDC.
A group of people have been causing fear and panic in the region, claiming they want to secede and form a country they called Western Togoland, but the swift deployment of security agents have contained the situation in the region.
Less than a week after rioting, attacking police stations and blocking vehicular movements on busy highways close to Juapong on the Accra-Ho highway, as well as the Accra-Aflao highway in September, which triggered tension in the Volta Region, they burnt down two State Transport Corporation (STC) mini buses in Ho at dawn as part of their so-called effort to ‘secede’ from Ghana.
The security agencies are currently on the lookout for three groups, namely the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF), the Western Togoland Restoration Front (WTRF) and the Western Togoland Assembly (WTA), who claimed to have adopted different strategies but are purporting to fight for a common agenda to push for a so-called Western Togoland in the Volta Region.
The government has said the issue is purely criminal and must be tackled devoid of the usual politics even though the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is creating the impression that the people in their stronghold of the Volta Region are being harassed by the government.
Bizarre Allegation
Mr. Mahama, who was heavily defeated in 2016 as incumbent and is leading the NDC once again on December 7, told his ally Kwesi Pratt on Pan African TV the attacks were not carried out by the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) but rather instigated by the National Security.
He said the government wants to intimidate people and prevent them from coming out to vote on Election Day in the Volta Region.
“We don’t know what they are deploying those soldiers to the Volta Region for. Maybe to intimidate the people. The Western Togoland people who went to put sand on the Sogakope road, they are not the real Western Togolanders. They are not Efo’s (referring to Papavi) people.
“This is an instrument of National Security so they tell them what to do. We have intelligence that on that day they will attempt to disrupt things in the Volta Region and if they do it’s because National Security wants to suppress the votes in the Volta Region.
“They come up with flashpoints and say there 4,000 flashpoints in Ghana. Kwesi, (referring to Kwesi Pratt who is the interviewer) when have we had 4,000 flashpoints in Ghana? In my time they were in the hundreds. In my time I don’t think there were more than 500 flashpoints. Suddenly, this election the election taskforce has declared 4,000 and something flashpoints,” he claimed.