The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has slammed the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) for deploying military personnel to border towns in the country.
At a press conference addressed by the Member of Parliament for Ketu South, Fifi Kwetey, the deployment was undoubtedly “timed to coincide with the commencement of the Voter Registration exercise across the country” from tomorrow, Tuesday.
The military personnel have been sighted in the Volta Region, Oti Region, Northern Region, Upper East Region and Upper West Region, which are known to be friendly to the NDC.
The NDC flagbearer, John Mahama, had earlier complained that the deployment of military personnel was meant to intimidate residents from coming out to register to vote.
This is because of the longstanding suspicion that the NDC has been allowing Togolese to register as Ghanaians to vote in the Volta Region, which is its stronghold, so as to influence election results in Ghana.
“The bottom line is that as far as the NPP is concerned, the people of the Volta Region are foreigners; the Ewes are not Ghanaians,” Mr. Kwetey said.
“This siege of the Volta Region dates back to NPP’s perennial hatred towards any group of people that they perceive as standing between them and their insatiable desire for absolute political power,” he added.
Describing it as a “show of tribal hatred”, Mr. Kwetey condemned what he called a sense of entitlement from the NPP who he said believed were “superior Ghanaians”.
On the claims that Togolese influence elections, the Ketu South MP pointed to regional outcomes of previous elections that the NDC won.
“Was it Togolese who have won the Central and Western Regions for the NDC in all the elections the party won? Was it them who won the Eastern Region for the NDC in both 1992 and 1996? Was it them who win the Greater Accra and Brong Ahafo Regions anytime NDC wins the general elections?”
He thus called for Ghanaians to resist these developments.
“Those watching this looming danger, but failing to speak up and condemn it should remember that their silence makes them accomplices and posterity will judge them if their own consciences fail to do so,” Mr. Kwetey said.
Ultimatum from Volta Caucus
At the same press conference, the Volta Caucus on the Minority side in Parliament gave the government a 24-hour ultimatum to withdraw the security personnel from Ghana’s borders in the Volta Region.
The Chairman of the Volta Caucus, Emmanuel Bedzrah, stressed that “The fire has been laid, and we the Voltarians are ready. We are not cowards and I want to repeat that, we are not cowards.”
“We don’t fear people, we only respect people and therefore, whoever deployed the military personnel to our borders should call them back immediately. We are giving them up to the end of tomorrow, Tuesday, the military personnel must be called back,” Mr. Bedzrah.
The government has said the military deployment is to safeguard Ghana’s borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the state, Ghana has 52 legal crossing points, over 250 illegal entry points and over 500 places without immigration officers.
