Air Marshall Michael Samson-Oje, Chief of the Defence Staff, GAF
Ghana will not plunge into turmoil come the November 7, 2016, elections, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has assured.
The army has given the strongest assurance it will back the Ghana Police Service to safeguard the peace being enjoyed in the country before, during and after the polls.
The Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces Air Marshall Michael Samson-Oje is confident his men are well equipped to quell any mishap beyond the control of the police service, which is mandated to keep peace internally.
“I can assure you it [election] will not descend into any chaos,” Samson-Oje assured the top hierarchy of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) when he paid a courtesy call on them.
According to the CDS, in the likely event that pandemonium erupts in Ghana, “we [GAF] shall apply the right antidote.”
However, he called on the media to be circumspect with their reportage and discharge their duties professionally without any biases.
“I believe sincerely that if the media plays its role effectively, efficiently devoid of any political lineage there’ll be peace in this country,” Samson-Oje counseled the GJA leadership.
The GJA, on the other hand, cautioned the media to avoid practices that will plunge the nation into chaos during the November polls. Its president Affail Monney charged the media to always focus on stories which will enhance the peace the country is enjoying.
Ghana votes in November to elect a president and parliamentarians for the next four years. President John Mahama of the ruling National Democratic Congress and Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party are the frontrunners in the polls expected to be neck-to-neck.
