ACP Agordzo slams the NPP for firing police recruits in 2017, praises Mahama's assurance.

Dr. Benjamin Agordzo, a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), has expressed his appreciation for President-Elect John Dramani Mahama's recent guarantee that recruits undergoing security service training will not be discharged.

According to Ghana Web on Monday, December 16, 2024, Dr. Agordzo believes that such a move is critical, particularly given Ghana's high unemployment rate.

Dr. Agordzo spoke on Radio Gold on December 14, 2024, emphasizing the severe repercussions that dismissing new recruits could have on their lives and families.

He replied, "There are no jobs. People obtain work, and their families are thrilled. To have something abruptly taken away, especially when a new government comes power, is a difficult scenario."

Reflecting on previous occurrences, the retired police officer recalled how, after the NPP took power in 2017, numerous recruits in training with the Ghana Police Service were fired. He said, "Some of these recruits were already in training, and some had even passed out, but they were still sacked."

According to Agordzo, the only rationale for their dismissal was that the candidates supposedly did not match the recruitment criteria, despite having gone through several phases of the screening process.

Agordzo noted that this decision had created significant distress, especially since the recruits had already been trained and had high aspirations for a secure future.

"Certain people were removed because they said that they did not meet the criteria for recruitment, but I find it difficult to understand how this was determined after all the training and selection processes they underwent," he said.

He added that the event highlighted a larger issue of job instability, particularly in a country with a high unemployment rate. In his opinion, the NPP's decision to dismiss the recruits in 2017 was both unfair and unreasonable.

He said, "People must live and live well. For me, the former president's pledge that such a circumstance would not occur again is critical."