We’ll deal with the handful of secessionists – Akufo-Addo assures

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians that his government will deal with the secessionists who are demanding independence for a Western Togoland state.

According to him, he is very calm at whatever is going on in the Volta Region because institutions are in place and are working assiduously to bring normalcy to the region.

“If I panic, the country panics. It's like the COVID-19 disease, if I had panicked, fear would have gripped all of us. But I know the work that God has appointed me to do; if I panic, the entire nation will also panic. That is not the purpose of leadership. I'm supposed to assure people that our country will work. What is happening in the Volta Region… it's just a handful of people, these secessionists - we'll deal with it. I have no doubts about it,” Akufo-Addo said in an interview on Kumasi-based Hello FM.

He added: “There is always an element of surprise…for all terrorist groups there is an element of surprise, it's there at the beginning, but after a time when the system is working, you are no longer going to be surprised. So, this they’ve done once or twice, third, fourth, fifth time, is not going to be so easy,” President Akufo-Addo noted.

Background

Some persons suspected to be members of a secessionist group attacked the Inter-City STC yard in the Volta Regional Capital, Ho on Monday September 28 and burnt one of its buses.

The incident, according to reports, occurred at midnight, and involved members of the group firing gunshots before proceeding to beat up the drivers of the state transport company.

Earlier, another group attacked a police station, seized police weapons and blocked roads. Some persons have been arrested and are on trial.