Military withdraws soldiers assigned to Speaker of parliament
Government accused of compromising Speakers’ security
Kwesi Pratt shocked over security assigned to Speaker
Ace Ghanaian journalist, Kwesi Pratt Junior, has expressed bewilderment about recent revelations made on the security detail of the Speaker of Ghana’s 8th Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin.
Speaking on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo morning show, the managing editor of the Insight Newspaper described the assignment of 12 police officers to the Speaker as part of his security detail as unprecedented.
He questioned whether the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament is a ‘mafia don’ to have such security at his disposal.
“I have never heard of it that in Ghana, since independence, a speaker has been assigned 12 police officers. I am shocked after reading it. Twelve, why? Even the mafia dons don’t have that many armed guards around them. This is unheard of,” he expressed.
Kwesi Pratt noted that none of the previous speakers, including Speaker Doe Adjaho, whom he described as his close friend, had such security detail at his disposal.
The majority and minority sides of parliament have been engaging in a battle of words over the recall of some four soldiers assigned to the Speaker for his protection by the Ghana Armed Forces.
While the majority sees the development as a step in the right direction, the minority says the move compromises the security and safety of the Speaker.
But speaking on the matter on Kokrokoo, Kwesi Pratt described the recall of the soldiers as proper.
“The step taken to recall the soldiers is in the right direction. It is not wrong; I have never seen soldiers guarding a speaker. Even the vice president is guarded by police officers and not soldiers. Are we going to war, or Boko Haram is attacking us?” he questioned further.
The majority in a statement emphasized that the withdrawal of the military from the Speakers’ security detail was not a government orchestration.
According to the majority, there is no attempt to compromise the security of the Speaker as he has benefited from the “largest number of security personnel for his protection that none of the previous Speakers had.”
“He has four police officers in his known residence. He has three police officers in his secretariat, and he has five other policemen in and around the Speaker’s office block any day, any time,” the statement said.
“This has not been a regular feature in Parliamentary Security considerations,” the statement added.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
