Withdrawal of Bagbin’s military guards: Akufo-Addo should fire GAF Chief of Staff – NDC MP

The Ghana Armed Forces has withdrawn military personnel attached to the security detail of the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin for his protection.

A letter from the Ghana Armed Forces signed by the Chief of Staff addressed to the Speaker said the officers were deployed without proper procedure. The soldiers have been with the Speaker since January 2021 when he assumed office.

The letter further noted the deployment will be regularized after their withdrawal. It however did not indicate timelines for the redeployment.

Reacting to this on the Happy Morning Show with Samuel Eshun, former Executive Secretary to IGP at the Ghana Police Service now Member of Parliament for Wa West and also a Member of NDCs security committee Peter Lanchene Toobu, said committing a procedural error in deploying military personal can be solved without necessarily withdrawing the men.

According to him, if it goes beyond that then it is a high degree blunder which heads must roll over such blunder.

“When I read the chief of staff letter, I bowed my head in Shame. The chief of staff is saying that the very thing he approved now realizes that there are procedural challenges and errors, and he is still at post as Chief of Staff of the army?" he quizzes.

"He should be fired by the President by now because he has caused a blunder. Administratively if you commit a blunder you can correct it without withdrawal because it’s just about rectification and it can be done without withdrawing the men but if you can’t it means it is a high degree blander which someone must be fired for that.”

He however advised that the Police must be empowered and respected to play the role the military is playing now.

Mr Toobu also asserted that “the way the role of the military is being handled now, the country is demeaning and reducing them to rats.”

Meanwhile, the Speaker in reaction to the move said: “The office of the Rt. Hon. Speaker, Alban S.K. Bagbin, has taken note of the withdrawal of four military officers posted to assist in the protection of the Speaker.

The attempt to strip the Speaker off security protection is untenable. In a country that takes pride in its democratic institutions and processes, the decision to reduce the number of security personnel assigned to the Speaker detracts from the political gains that Ghana has made, and is a bad precedent”.

Government has dismissed suggestions that the decision to withdraw the military attachment to the Speaker of Parliament by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is an attempt to stifle his protection.

The Ministry of National Security said soldiers are not to be part of the Speaker’s security detail.

The Minority in Parliament has described the withdrawal of the Speaker’s military bodyguard by the Ghana Armed Forces as politically motivated.
According to the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, the Speaker followed all due processes in securing the guards from the armed forces.