PPP to unleash ‘Sea Lions’ for 2016 elections

The opposition Progressive People’s Party (PPP) is considering establishing a security arm to protect what it says is its "area" during the 2016 elections.

The party says members of the group will be drawn from its fold.

“They are just Ghanaians and their job simply is to make sure that they protect our ballots,” stated Kofi Asamoah Siaw, the party’s National Secretary, in an interview with TV3’s Jonathan Adams on Monday, September 14.

As to what informed the decision of the party to form such a pseudo-security group, Mr Asamoah Siaw said because the two major political parties – National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patroitoic Party (NPP) – have such groups, they are just following suit.

PPP’s leader and founder, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, was threatened by some unidentified men in Talensi during the July by-election.

According to the party, the guns wielded by those men were purposely bought for them.

“Let’s fix this problem in the country,” Mr Asamoah Siaw demanded.

“Why do we go for an election and someone will come with a state security? What is going to happen there that he needs BNI protection?” he asked, referring to the NDC Chairman Kofi Portuphy, in whose car a licensed AK47 gun was retrieved during the by-election.