COP Vans Baba Gariba
The Director General of Operations, COP Vance Baba Gariba, has revealed the military will be on standby during the upcoming Akwatia by-election.
COP Vance Baba Gariba detailed that the military will only be deployed if the condition makes it necessary.
Speaking to the media, COP Vance Baba Gariba stated, “The military will be only on standby. As and when we need them, then we will deploy them, but if we don’t need the military, then we will not request for the deployment of the military. They are only going to be on standby”.
He further appealed to the people of Akwatia to come out in their numbers to vote, as they will be protected throughout the process.
“I want to reassure all the good people of Akwatia that they should come out in their numbers and exercise their franchise. The GPS will continue to reassure of their safety and security during this period”, COP Vance Baba Gariba added.
Also, Richard Kumadoe, a security consultant, has said the Ghana Police alone cannot guarantee peace in the upcoming Akwatia by-election.
Speaking on CITI Eyewitness News on Friday, August 29, Mr Kumadoe detailed, “The police, just like the military, have gone to do what we call reccy, and I believe they have gone to do security mapping. It is also the reason why the IGP met with the political parties to address their concerns. He mentioned that he is going into Akwatia with 5,000 men. Even if every polling station has 30 personnel, he will still have some men at his disposal”.
“For the election to be successful, there are three people who must act correctly. The Electoral Commission must discharge its statutory duty. If we get to Akwatia and the machines don’t come or they come and are not working, that is not the job of the police. If there is voter displacement or discrepancies during collation, it is not the fault of the police,” he stressed.
He warned that the lapses in EC logistics could trigger tension, adding, “For the election to be successful, there are three people who must act correctly. The Electoral Commission must discharge its statutory duty.
If we get to Akwatia and the machines don’t come or they come and are not working, that is not the job of the police. If there is voter displacement or discrepancies during collation, it is not the fault of the police,” he warned.
Mr Kumadoe further observed, “It has always been the case that the politician, who is the third person in the bracket, will not do their work, bastardise the whole process, create all manner of problems, and then blame everybody”.
He concluded by praising the police for demonstrating preparedness. “The police and the IGP have shown readiness to deal with anybody who wants to flout our laws. It is a shared responsibility”.
Meanwhile, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has alleged that the Director of Special Operations at the National Security Secretariat, Richard Jakpa, is moving around Akwatia with soldiers, threatening indigenes.
According to the NPP Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, the NDC is planning to use national security operatives to intimidate voters.
Speaking to the media in Accra on Wednesday, August 27, Richard Ahiagbah stated, NDC plans to “hide behind the guise of national security to terrorise some residents and voters in Akwatia.”
“Richard Jakpa has reportedly been perambulating Akwatia with soldiers, threatening some indigenes and residents to leave the town before the by-election in their own interest,” he claimed.
“We want to make it abundantly clear that any soldier involved in the Akwatia by-election will be considered and dealt with as a thug,” he declared.
Richard Ahiagbah further called on President John Mahama to call Richard Jakpa to order.
“We urge the President, under whose watch national security falls, to call Richard Jakpa to order and ensure that no soldier meddles in the Akwatia by-election,” Ahiagbah said.
Also, Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Mustapha Gbande, has issued a stern warning.
According to Mustapha Gbande, any acts of violence or intimidation on election day would be met with equal resistance.
“We won’t bring violence here. NDC is not a violent party, but on the 2nd of September, if anybody decides to come to the town or the voting grounds with violence, they will come, but they will not know how to leave. Violence begets violence”, Gbande declared.
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