Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, National Chairman of NDC
Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, has made some allegations against the Minister of Interior, Henry Quartey, over the recent announcement of recruitment into the various security services and the Ghana Armed Forces.
Asiedu Nketiah alleged that the ruling New Patriotic Party is seeking to train over 10,000 supporters and deploy them on December 7 to undertake actions in the interest of the party.
Asiedu Nketiah claims that the list is with the Minister of Interior and that the minister has been rattled following opposition to the move by members of the Minority caucus in Parliament.
He alleges that Henry Quartey tried to reach a quid-pro-quo with the minority lawmakers by offering them two slots each in the recruitment exercise.
He disclosed that the minority MPs rejected the offer and promised to ensure that recruitment is fair and reserved for all Ghanaians.
"We won’t sit there and allow this government to select 10,000 party members, train and deploy them on election day to maintain peace at the polls. What will the declaration do to avert what is about to happen?
"They have a list of 10,000 people who have been shortlisted, and it’s on the desk of the Interior Minister, who is trying to find a way of ensuring that these people get recruited into the security services. At a point, the Interior Minister went to Parliament to bribe our MPs, saying, 'Bring two each from our constituency to allow me to do it,' and they rejected it flatly," he said.
It will be recalled that the Minority on August 7, 2024, issued a statement urging the intervention of various stakeholders in what it termed to be biased recruitment by the Ministry of Interior.
This statement, which was a petition to the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), followed an advertisement published in the Ghanaian Times and Daily Graphic newspapers on August 7, 2024, recruiting personnel into the security services.
In a statement signed by James Agalga, Member of Parliament for Builsa North and Ranking Member on the Committee on Defence and Interior, the Minority called on stakeholders, including the National Peace Council, Christian Council of Ghana, Office of the National Chief Imam, development partners, civil society organisations, and all peace-loving individuals to speak out against this alleged injustice.
Meanwhile, GhanaWeb is set to premiere a documentary on playwright Uncle Ebo Whyte on Monday, August 19, 2024. Watch the trailer below:
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