Albert kan Dapaah
Ministry of National Security says that the security of Rt. Hon. Alban S.K Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament is intact, no changes have been made to it.
The ministry which delved deep into the assignment of security for Speaker of Parliament and Members of Parliament (MPs) in the country said in a statement issued Saturday January 15, 2022, that information about the withdrawal of the soldiers attached to the Office of the Speaker has been given misinterpretations by a section of the Ghanaian public.
According to the ministry, soldiers do not form part of the security arrangement of the Speaker and Members of Parliament.
This explained that soldiers only come in a need-basis in accordance with stated state protocols.
“The Ministry of National Security would like to place on record that contrary to the aforesaid misrepresentations, all requisite resources including logistics and personnel required for full protection of the Speaker have been provided.
“It is worth noting that for the first time since 2017, the security arrangements for both the Speaker and Members of Parliament have been significantly enhanced.
“It also needs stating that personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces do not form part of the security detail for the Speaker and Parliament as Parliamentary security support is provided by the Ghana Police Service. Any need for specific agency support is typically executed on the need-basis in accordance with stated state protocols,” part of the statement said.
The clarification follows accusation by Member of Parliament for Banda and Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is behind the removal of the soldiers who were attached to the Office of the Speaker.
“This came to us a great shock,” he said, adding that “this is the time we all need to come together to work on security.
“We are surprised as a minority to hear government withdrawing the military detachment of the speaker. The speaker is number three, even the EC chair is using about ten Military personnel. So if the Speaker duly requested for four and they have been on duty for over one year, the questions is what has changed? It raises security questions.
“It is president Akufo-Addo who has withdrawn the military detachment, he is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The Minority will meet on Monday,” the lawmaker said on an Accra based radio station which was monitored by DGN Online.
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) explained that the four soldiers who have been withdrawn from the Office of the Speaker of Parliament were attached to that particular office without proper procedure.
This resulted in the decision to withdraw them while efforts are made to regularise their attachment, a statement said.
“The under-named military personnel were attached to the Office of the Rt Honourable Speaker of Parliament without the proper procedure,” the statement signed by the Chief of Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, NP Andoh to the Speaker said.
“It is humbly requested that the personnel are withdrawn with effect from 14 January 2022 while efforts are made to regularise their attachment,”.
By Vincent Kubi