Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo
Embattled National Chairman of opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Ofosu-Ampofo did not make a vague assertion when he said their party has men in the police.
He indicated in his infamous leaked audio recording that these men would champion the cause of the party’s 2020 strategies. He, of course, raised the spirits of his party’s rank and file membership most of whom are disillusioned about the party’s prospects in next year’s elections.
The disillusionment stems from the fact that the time-tested underhand means of winning elections at the disposal of the party has been rendered inoperative.
Above all, good governance has replaced its opposite, a reality which has made it rather impossible to continue throwing dust into the eyes of many Ghanaians any longer.
The policing shortcomings observed in the years when the law enforcement agents were deployed to manage routine operations such as voter registration exercise and voting, among others, are attributable to the Ampofo/NDC boys in police uniform.
We would not be making unsubstantiated postulations when we say that some of these uniformed NDC elements were taking instructions outside the police hierarchy. No wonder demonstrations under the NDC were characterized by lost eyeballs and bloodshed.
In the midst of the resignation of police officers who immediately pick up NDC nomination forms our postulations are grounded.
As they shed the state provided uniforms and announce publicly their membership of the opposition NDC and to join its race in the constituencies across the country, we can only wonder just how many of the Ofosu-Ampofo boys are still in the ranks of the police and waiting to take the plunge into the NDC waters publicly. We, like other Ghanaians, are all-eyes for the next batch of Ofosu-Ampofo police officers which would make the public announcement of resigning and joining the campaign trail of former President John Mahama.
As Ghanaians, we all vote according to our preferences regardless of our professions and occupations. However, those of us in public service and the regimented lines, we must conform to laid-down codes such as not showing any inclination towards political parties. Breaches of these would impact on public confidence in such organizations some of them paramilitary.
Police officers who upon resigning picked up nomination forms almost immediately have left Ghanaians with firm belief that they were active members of these political parties in breach of established codes.
As we shape and fine-tune our democratic practices, such rough edges must be looked into critically. A customs officer we have learnt is waiting on the wings ready to take a leap into politics even as he refused to resign his appointment. Of course, that anomaly should not be allowed by his superiors because the repercussions and the precedence would not augur well for public service decency.
The law enforcement agency in particular is infested by a political anomaly which we must remedy in the interest of the growth of our democracy.
Let those who are active constituency executives yet spot the uniform of the Ghana Police Service and take instructions from the NDC headquarters resign now.