Stop tagging Ewes as Togolese or have yourselves blamed - Govt warned

The Council of Elders and Political Committee of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Volta region has called on the Nana Akufo-Addo led government and the security agencies to have themselves blamed, should Voltarians be characterised as Togolease or be prevented from participating in the ongoing voter registration exercise.

At a press conference held on Wednesday, July 22 2020, the joint committee of the political and council of elders lamented that they can no longer bear the criticisms that Voltarians are not Ghanaians and therefore warned the government, individuals and the security services to desist from tagging Ewes as foreigners, especially any attempt to stop indigenes of the region from participating in the ongoing voter registration exercise, or else, they use the constitution to hit the government.

" Enough is enough! We wish to send a very strong and clear signal to His Excellency the President, the Security Services and anybody who, at any time henceforth, will engage in any act of aggression in whichever form; especially by attempting to prevent any indigene of the Volta region in any part of the country from participating in the ongoing registration exercise that, they will have only themselves to blame in any such event. We have no other option than to ensure that our sons and daughters protect themselves.

We will do whatever it takes under the law, and we owe it to our indigenes. A word to the wise is enough". Chairman of the Council of elders, Daniel Abodakpui told the media.

The NDC elders said every Ghanaian expects that a democratic dispensation in the fourth republic will serve as a channel for development in unity in Ghana but that has not been witnessed under the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

According to the party, segregation of the people of Volta region in the country began in the year 2001, when many Ewes were targeted and were dismissed, maltreated and transferred at the various public sectors across the country, hence they were worried and prayed for equality, which necessitated the coming of the late President Professor John Atta Mills, who was tagged a "father for all".

" In the year 2001, we once again began to witness the targeting of people of Volta origin in public service and who were either dismissed, transferred, or maltreated, among others. We were worried and Prayed for things to change for the better. Ladies and Gentlemen, our hope was given a boost when our very own Professor John Evans Atta Mills of blessed memory showed the way in 2009 as he adopted a “Father for All” disposition; even in the face of scathing criticism and opposition; embracing all and sought to build a united country".

The Former Member of Parliament for Keta, Daniel Abodakpui said, soon after the NPP took power in 2016, they were marvelled as Voltarians were targeted again, " We are therefore surprised and shocked to the core when the current Government, led by President Akuffo Addo, upon assumption of office, began to superintend over a system of governance which sought to deliberately target people of Volta extraction in Academia, industry, business and many other sectors".

He said although the Ewes and the NDC tried to tolerate the happenings, recent developments in connection with the voter registration exercise and tagging Ewes as aliens in Ghana has shown that the NPP has no sympathy for the region.

" Even as we tried to tolerate these and hoped for an improvement, recent events surrounding the ongoing voter registration exercise have confirmed to us that the NPP government is hell-bent on persecuting people of Volta extraction, whether resident in Ghana or not. A few examples of this will suffice, the deployment of Military personnel along our borders to intimidate and harass our people because of the tacit refusal by this government to accept us as Ghanaians, a notion which was recently underscored by K.T. Hammond, is a clear manifestation of this attitude of labelling Voltarians as Togolese and non-Ghanaians, the besieging of Honuta by the Military, breaking and barging into people’s homes in search of so-called Togolese, the demolition of Ayigbe town in the Tema East Constituency, the demolition of Ewe settlements in Bui and Bongaase in the Banda enclave in the Bono region".

Meanwhile, Government on several occasions has indicated that the deployment of the Military into the region was not intended to disfranchise Voltarains, but to protect the country's entry points against the coronavirus.