'Dampare is the worst IGP ever, 80% of police officers voted out NPP because of him' - ACP Agordzo

Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Dr. Benjamin Agordzo, has claimed that a lot of police officers voted against the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the December 7, 2024, general election because of the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare.

According to him, the actions of Dr. Dampare, especially the biased transfer of police officers, made the NPP government very unpopular amongst police officers.

ACP Dr. Agordzo, who made these claims in an interview with TV3 on Wednesday, December 11, 2024, described Dr. Dampare as the worst IGP the country has ever had.

“I will always say that this is the worst IGP that we have ever seen in this country. This is the worst IGP. Can you imagine an IGP promoting people without the promotion board? Can you imagine an IGP transferring people without a transfer board?

"Can you imagine an IGP just transferring, so vindictive that if he doesn’t talk to a particular senior officer and he sees you as his friend getting closer to that senior police officer, he will transfer you? Can you see an IGP transferring those around his Deputy Inspector General of Police because they are around him?

“Have you seen this kind of thing? I don’t have any personal problems with him but I am just saying what I know. And let me tell you something, and I wrote it on my Facebook wall, I can tell you that over 80% or not less of police officers voted against the NPP because of Dampare. I am telling you frankly. You go out and see what is happening in the police service. The police personnel are so disillusioned, so depressed, so fed up with the IGP and they have spoken. There are a lot of cases in court right now against the IGP,” he said.

The retired police officer added it is unprecedented for police officers to be suing the IGP over promotions.

He also claimed that while Dr. Dampare is denying people their promotions, he is promoting his favourite officers almost every year.

He indicated that some senior officers of the police service are now infuriated because they now have to salute their juniors who have all of a sudden risen above them in terms of rank.

“When he came to office, a certain young man was ASP. As soon as he (Dampare) came, he promoted him to DSP. The next year he was a Superintendent and this year he is a Chief Superintendent.

“If Dampare remains in office next year, that guy will be an Assistant Commissioner. Now the indiscipline is that he just sidelines all the seniors and promotes favourites from behind them.

"What do you expect of those people? And because we are a disciplined kind of command-driven institution, it is difficult for you to begin to salute somebody who is about eight years your junior all of a sudden Dampare promotes him within two years and you are supposed to be saluting him,” he said.

BAI/EK

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