News:
August 5, 2020
Minister for Defense, Dominic Nitiwul has challenged former President John Dramani Mahama and flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to provide evidence of intimidation, suppression and harassment he is alleging to have taken place at the ongoing registration exercise by the Electoral Commission.
According to him should the former president provide any evidence, he as the sector Minister would take an action against and military officer found to be miss conducting him or herself, “we need evidence to his allegations”.
“Office of the former president is a respected one, there are three eminent persons who occupied that office, he is a candidate now, he and his followers should know this, so when he makes this type of allegation we need evidence”.
At a media briefing in parliament, the defense Minister told journalists that the briefing given the former president and presidential candidate of the opposition was wrong. His intelligence briefing was suspect and misleading.
On the brouhaha with the intimidation going on at Banda circulated in the media space Dominic Nitiwul noted that the military are ensuring that no one is bused to the registration center and the two parliamentary candidates of both the ruling government and the opposition have had an agreement on this.
He backed his argument by pointing out that the Regional Security Coordinating Council has had this understanding with the NPP and the NDC in Banda to have peace before and after the registration exercise.
“To see the General Secretary of the NDC in a video clip going round busing people should be condemned I do that with all the might I have in me, I want to assure Ghanaians RCSC task the military to be at Banda”.
Mr. Nitiwul emphasized that the military command has not deploy any of its personnel to suppress voters and what is happening in Banda, what do you want the military to do when they see people being bused, we want them to simply walk there?
The political parties would have to respect their agreement and the former President John Mahama is wrong in citing voter suppression in the Volta Region, are the figures in the Northern and Volta Region lower than the national figures, no obviously same with Greater Accra?
“For him and his party to run the military is very unfortunate and it is not in their interest to run the military down, he was just the commander in chief just four years ago and I am very worried he is taking his time to run down the military. He did that at Aflao and was called out and he could not provide evidence he is doing it again”.
The Minister told the media the former president could not provide evidence in his earlier allegation of voter suppression in the Volta Region, “NDC knows that the Ghanaian military are professionals, they would not be used by any individual to do their dirty work for them”.
And added that the opposition knows that the current president is a democrat and has not intentions and not in his blood to use the military to do any dirty work for him, “he does not need it”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com