Kwamena Duncan has taken a swipe at the National Communications Officer of the largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, and his party for accusing the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of trying to rig the upcoming general elections.
At a press conference on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, in Accra, Sammy Gyamfi alleged that the NPP has planned to stuff ballot boxes in the Ashanti Region in favour of the party’s flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
He mentioned that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) intends to use Brigadier General Michael Opoku, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Central Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, to do the rigging.
“Per our credible intel, Brigadier-General Opoku’s residence in Kumasi is currently the storage facility for weapons, illegally printed ballot papers, military apparel, and other election materials, which the NPP intends to use to execute this dastardly and subversive agenda,” he alleged.
Sammy Gyamfi petitioned the security authorities and the Overlord of the Asante Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to address their concerns.
“We are going to ensure that the King of the Ashanti people, who is very much interested in the peace of our nation and the peace of the processes leading to, during, and after the December 7 election, we will officially draw his attention to these developments because the headquarters of the operation of this guy [Brigadier-General Michael Opoku] is Kumasi…And I know that the Otumfuo cherishes the peace that the people of Kumasi and the Ashanti Region enjoy, and he will want to take an interest in this matter and call this guy to order.”
But to Kwamena Duncan, these allegations are falsehoods.
As a former Central Regional Minister and former Head of Regional Security, Kwamena Duncan narrated that it is a normal procedure for the security agencies, prior to the election, to devise precautionary measures to prevent anything untoward on election day, particularly at the flashpoints.
“There is no iota of truth in it. It is not possible under our electoral structure,” he exclaimed while speaking on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” show.
He asked, “What can Brigadier General Michael Opoku do to rig the elections?”
He noted that the NDC’s accusations are a ploy to denigrate Asantes, saying, “This is an Asante thing against Asante and by extension against Akan,” adding that the NDC has chosen to “single this man [Brigadier General Michael Opoku] out who is an Asante. Take him to the cleaners and ruin his reputation.”