The National Security Advisor, Brigadier-General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah, has explained that Quarter Guards are mounted for any Very Important Person (VIP) visiting a military or police installation.
He said it was, therefore, untrue and mischievous to claim that Quarter Guards were mounted for only sitting Heads of State.
He recalled that at the recent Regional Police Commanders Conference in Accra, a full Guard of Honour was mounted for him and the Interior Minister, Mr Cletus Avoka.
That, he said, did not mean that they were Heads of State.
He said such protocol was extended to dignitaries, diplomats and statesmen who visited the units and that the Commanding Officer of a unit did not need permission to do that.
He said it was therefore erroneous for any media institution to state that the mounting of Quarter Guards was a privilege of the sitting President.
Referring to publications of a Quarter Guard mounted in honour of former President Rawlings by the 3BN at Sunyani and inferences made about who was the Head of State, General Nunoo-Mensah advised the media to refer military or security matters, which they do not understand, to the appropriate authorities to avoid “such embarrassment and confusion”.
Former President Rawlings was in a Sunyani a fortnight ago to thank the people for voting for the NDC and inspected the Quarter Guard when he and his team visited the 3BN to donate food items for a children’s party.
Commentaries after the event have questioned the former president’s capacity to inspect the Guard, with others questioning if he was still the president of the republic or President J.E.A. Mills was in charge.
Mr. Kofi Adams, an aide to Rawlings told Joy FM Friday, that the issue of who is in charge of the presidency does not arise in the first place because Rawlings did not ask for a Guard in his honour, besides, he sought permission from the security authorities before visiting the 3BN.
By Joyfm