Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin
A group called Concerned Youth of Nadowli-Kaleo has accused the Inspector General of Police (IGP), George Akuffo Dampare, of looking on unconcerned as the life of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, is threatened.
The group made the accusation in a statement dated Thursday, November 11, 2024, and signed by David Jawara, Convener of the Concerned Youth of Nadowli/Kaleo constituency.
It also called on the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, to intervene.
“Concerned Youth of Nadowli-Kaleo Constituency is a development-oriented political group of individuals who have always sought the development of the district and its human resource base,” the statement opened.
“It is, however, with grave concern that we issue this release on how the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, is handling a public threat against one of the illustrious sons of our constituency, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Bagbin, who has had a sterling twenty-eight (28) years of exceptional representation of our constituency and who serves mother Ghana currently as the Speaker of Parliament.”
“On October 19, 2024,” the Concerned Youth of Nadowli-Kaleo said, “the Convener of this group presented a petition in his individual capacity to the Inspector General of the Ghana Police Service, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, on a viral video of a man who verbally assaulted the Speaker of Parliament and went ahead to threaten his life. This petition has been stillborn following the clear lack of attention and seriousness it has received to date.
“We know about how threats of this nature involving members in the executive arm of government are swiftly attended to by the IGP.”
“In 2020, a presenter of Accra-based Power FM, Oheneba Boamah Bennie, was arrested for a video he posted on his Facebook wall, which was seen by the police administration as a threat against the president. We can also vividly recall how the then national chairman for NDC, Hon. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, was arrested and arraigned before court on comments he allegedly made in a meeting with party communicators. These comments were seen by the police as a threat to the peace of this country,” the group cited.
“We are extremely worried that the disgusting comments in the video, which have been brought formally to the attention of the IGP, have not received the requisite attention and action.”
“We have realized that, since the October 17, 2024, pronouncement by the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Bagbin, on the fate of the four MPs which arose from the petition of Hon. Haruna Idrissu, many vile commentaries and threats have been made against the Rt. Hon. Speaker, but nothing has been done about it. Is the IGP failing to act because the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament does not belong to the ruling party, or is the IGP being manipulated by some unseen hands in government?” the group quizzed.
“As a matter of fact, love or hate him, the contributions of the Rt. Hon. Speaker towards the development of our 4th republican democracy and parliament are enviable not only in Ghana but across the African continent and the world at large.”
“We are hereby calling on the Minister for the Interior, who is also a member of parliament, to take a serious interest in this critical matter,” the group said. “For the IGP, we wish to remind him he owes it a duty to protect the lives and property of everyone in Ghana.”
“We, the Concerned Youth of Nadowli/Kaleo constituency, are determined to use all available democratic tools to call for the arrest and prosecution of that young man and his ilk while also calling for the security around the Rt. Hon. Bagbin to be beefed up,” they emphasized.
“We are very confident that, even if the IGP and the executive fail to do the needful, the Almighty God and the oracles of our land will continue to be the ultimate guard for the Speaker of Parliament.”
“Finally, we are confident that Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin would not be cowed by any individual or group to make any decisions that are inimical to the interest of the country,” the group said.
“We, the Concerned Youth of Nadowli/Kaleo constituency, will continue to hold Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin in high esteem and will not sit aloof and watch the leader of the legislative arm of government be treated with disdain.
“Thank you,” the statement concluded.