NDC flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama
The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has expressed shock over how the government is handling the Western Togoland insurgency, describing it as lukewarm.
Speaking during his campaign in the Bono Region, Mr. Mahama said the government is treating the security situation with kid’s gloves and has left Voltarians to their fate.
“It looks like the whole government is not serious about this, the President is not serious about it. No senior person has gone to the area since this thing happened,” Mr. Mahama said.
He added: “The Minister of National Security, when this thing was very topical…, he should have gone to the area to boost the morale of the security services there, instead he was in Kumasi with the President commissioning a compost plant.”
“What does Minister of National Security have to be in Kumasi with the President for? On a compost plant, instead of going where people are trying to cede part of your territory.
“There is nothing more serious than trying to break up parts of a country. And as I’m saying they are not taking this seriously,” the former leader stressed.
Members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation have been launching onslaught in the Volta Region in a bid to declare the zone an independent state.
Touching on the situation for the first time, President Akufo-Addo said there is no cause for alarm because the security agencies are on top of the issue.
“I have to be calm because institutions are in place. The security agencies are doing their work. They’ve started already and we’ll see results. If I panic, the country panics. It’s like the COVID-19 disease, if I had panicked, fear would have gripped all of us,” Nana Addo stated.
He added: “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 in the time of these handfuls – it’s just a handful of people, these secessionists – we’ll deal with it.
“I have no doubts about it. I trust the security agencies. I trust the Armed Forces. I trust the Police. I trust their leadership. The intelligence agencies, I know they are all working very, very, very hard to make sure that this matter is dealt with as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, vice president Mahamudu Bawumia has pointed out that the government will not have any dialogue with the secessionists because their actions are “criminal.”
“Negotiate with who, these criminals… on what basis? It doesn’t make sense. If so then we’ll be open to many things, tomorrow you’ll go somewhere and some group will get up and say the northern territory has to also be somewhere else. What we need is intelligence and we’ll try to deal with this,” Dr. Bawumia said on Accra-based Asempa FM.
