No serious Ghanaian would think of staging or wishing for a coup, Defence Minister Mark Owen Woyongo has declared.
The Minister, who made the declaration on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem morning show on Tuesday April 16, 2013, said a coup today would be akin to taking “one step forward, two steps back.”
According to the former Northern Region Minister, no soldier had shown signs of discontent during his ongoing tour of the nation’s garrisons and barracks and the possibility of a coup was therefore remote.
The Minister said the morale of the soldiers was so high that no one was thinking of staging a coup, especially after the massive infusion of equipment and by the government.
Mr. Woyongo said over the past five or six years, the navy had been equipped with several ships, the Army had received among others Armoured Personnel Carriers and other vehicles, while the Air Force had received a number of aircrafts. Their weapon stocks had also been improved, he added.
As well, the military had enjoyed stability over the past 25 years while the economy has picked up, leading to improved salaries.
“I’ve been going round the garrisons, interacting with them and I’m satisfied there will be no coup, because they themselves admit nobody will benefit from a coup,” he insisted.
Mr. Woyongo defended the decision of the National Security Office to invite persons speaking about the possibility of a coup d’etat, saying such comments were possibly seditious and needed to be investigated thoroughly.
National Security officials Monday questioned Captain Budu Koomson, Chief Operating Officer of the UT Group, after an interview he granted to an Accra-based radio station during which he called for vigilance because present economic and social conditions in Ghana could lead to a coup.
Information reaching Adomonline.com indicates renowned banker and economist Ken Ofori Atta is also likely to be invited for questioning on the same issue.
Mr. Woyongo challenged the media to continually play their watchdog role, pointing out that a coup would inevitably affect the work of the media.
“We’ve taken too many things for granted in this country. If there is a coup d’état you may not be allowed to sit in that studio. You may not even be allowed to broadcast” he told show host Adakabre Frimpong Manso.
Story by Ghana/Adomonline.com/Frank Agyei-Twum