New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin Central and the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, have joined forces to fight the coolheaded Minister of National Security, who has vowed to use tact and diplomacy to resolve the insecurity situation created by vigilante groups linked to the governing party.
While Kennedy Agyapong is threatening to bring down the party if Mr. Kan-Dapaah, the Minister of National Security, does not stop his threats, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, also claimed that the Minister wants him dead.
They have both vowed to bring down the minister, who is seen as team player, a skilled negotiator and good connection to opponents of the NPP, as well as President Nana Akufo-Addo’s bitterest rivals.
The Minister, promised to deal drastically with the unruly vigilante issue but Ken Agyapong and have separately waded into the matter angry at the National Security Minister.
The Minister had in interview with a radio station reportedly slammed the legislator and asked him to shut up because he knew nothing about security. The Minister also questioned why the media continue to engage the MP on security matters.
But responding to the Minister, Mr. Agyapong, fired salvos at him and questioned his loyalty to the party. He also slammed the Delta Force group over their attack on the Kumasi Circuit Court.
He described Kan Dapaah as a disaster and further lambasted the National Security for poorly handling the Kumasi Security Coordinating Council attack.
“They have attempted to kill me but if they don’t take care the way I will bring this party down; they will regret it. I have a lot of secret but for the sake of Akufo-Addo, I have remained calm. I would have stripped them naked but because of the promise I made to Nana Addo, I have decided to keep quiet”.
According to him, although he supports them, he will not support them on this attack.
The group he added, has sacrificed for the party and deserves to be rewarded.
He also decried the demand of certificates from the members of the force before being employed. He questioned if the boys were asked for their certificates when the party was looking for individuals to protect their ballot boxes in 2016.
Wontumi who is the brain behind the Delta Forces, Mr. Kan Dapaah’s attitude has suddenly changed since his appointment as the National Security Minister and won’t mind having him (Wontumi) killed if given the opportunity.
“Kan Dapaah claimed that he had retired from politics…but now he is the National security minister and I know that if he gets his way he will have me killed. That is the truth, that is the truth,” Wontumi said in an interview on Ash FM Friday.
Wontumi added that Mr. Dapaah’s description of NPP vigilante group Delta Forces as a criminal group is a clear indication that the minister has turned on his party since his appointment.
Speaking to a radio station last Friday morning, Chairman Wontumi also cautioned Mr. Kan Dapaah to be mindful of his treatment and utterances towards vigilante group Delta Forces.
“Today some NPP members have positions so they talk anyhow…especially Kan Dapaah, he didn’t even campaign for the NPP. Where was Kan Dapaah when these boys were campaigning, today he describes them as criminals.
Wontumi added that “If Mr. Dapaah is talking he should be careful…he claimed he had retired from politics but now he has a position after we won the elections…I want to tell Kan Dapaah that if we have suffered for him to get a position…he should be mindful how he treats us.”
Wontumi’s comments came after the Delta Force vigilante group on Thursday stormed a Circuit in the Ashanti region and freed some 13 of its members who were standing trial for disturbances at the regional coordinating council.
Members of the Delta Force stormed a Kumasi Circuit court on Thursday, and vandalized some court property as well as freeing 13 of their members, who were facing trial for allegedly harassing the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, George Adjei.
The 13 escaped after some members of the group monitoring the court proceedings, sparked confusion during the hearing. About eight of those who caused the confusion were arrested, while the rest of the 13 fugitives later turned themselves in to the police.
The incident has attracted widespread condemnation in the country. Many security analysts have faulted the police for not anticipating such a situation considering the delicate nature of the case.
On his part, the acting National Chairman of the governing NPP, Freddie Blay has said it will be difficult disbanding various vigilante groups in the country.
Mr. Blay believes although these groups can be made to face the full rigors of the law when found guilty of a particular offence, it will be impossible to totally bring their activities to a halt.
“The Minister of Security said that those Forces are loyal members of the party and as a group or as individuals, they may do something wrong but if they do so the law must take its course. If you join a party and you call yourself a name and the company is not registered, particularly when it is not an organisation that is created to this party, I don’t see how it can be banned but I will say that we should disassociate from any act of vandalism, we should dissociate the party from any act of lawlessness and not just condemn it. You should ask the security authorities to act when it is necessary for them to act. We won’t prevent them. I don’t think the government will condemn them,” he say.
Mr. Blay’s claim contradicts his earlier claim which suggested that he was condemning the attack. He said the party is embarrassed by such actions, adding that the law must take its course. “They are not kids, now they’ve taken the step of doing the unthinkable and it is a pity, it has brought embarrassment and it is bad PR for us. But I don’t think that is the end of the world,” he said.
Freddie Blay had also slammed critics tagging them as a violent party following the attacks by the vigilante group Delta Force, while speaking in an interview with Accra based Asempa Fm.
The former legislator said: ‘’ I think it is not very fair for anybody to say so, it is not fair.
When about two or three people go against the law or do anything untoward, you don’t come into conclusion that the whole party is involved in wrongdoing. I think that is not proper.
A Ghanaian goes abroad to deal in cocaine doesn’t mean that the whole Ghanaians are cocaine dealers. One Ghanaian kills somebody and you say Ghanaians are murderers.
I think if you say so, you are not being fair to Ghanaians. In the same way we agree that Delta Forces are members of the party, we agree that they’ve supported the party towards our elections dating back from 2000….We all condemned what they did but it doesn’t mean that the party takes full responsibility for what has happened. They went lawless, and it’s inexcusable.’’
He has, however, condemned the attack stating that, the party is embarrassed by the lawlessness and attacks.
“They are not kids, now they’ve taken the step of doing the unthinkable and it is a pity, it has brought embarrassment and it is a bad PR for us. But I don’t think that is the end of the world,” he said.
He said: “Although they have apologized, of course it doesn’t mean that the party would interfere with police during their investigation, the party didn’t do that. We had to allow the law to take its own course. In allowing the law to take its own course that resulted in them being brought before the court. And unfortunately, they were supposed to be remanded. And that was part of the foolish thing that they [Delta Force] did. We condemn it.’’
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