The Information Minister has said that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will not appoint a new security coordinator for the Ashanti Region.
Mustapha Hamid said revoking the appointment of Mr George Agyei and appointing a new person will be endorsing impunity and yielding to lawlessness.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, he said although he has not discussed the issue with the President, he is certain that he will not go back on his word.
Last month, about 200 members of the pro-NPP group Delta Force, stormed the offices of the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, attacked him physically to force him out of office.
According to the group, it cannot work with George Agyei because he was ‘not part of the struggle’ to wrestle power from the National Democratic Congress during the December 2016 general elections.
The group said its leader should rather be appointed to occupy the post.
But Mustapha Hamid said the behaviour of the group was inconsistent with the values of the NPP.
“If because of [their action] the President were to retreat on that appointment, that will give vent to the action that the Delta Forces took.
“I think that to spite them, this appointment will stand,” he added.
In an interview with Joy News’ Erastus Asare Donkor, leader of the Delta Forces said ‘while we were suffering from police beatings, he was seen no where among us’.
The group had previously sent a petition to the Regional Minister and other senior NPP figures in the party asking that Mr Agyei’s appointment be rescinded.
They took the law into their own hands when they noticed Mr Agyei had started work.
Mr Hamid said President Akufo-Addo is bent on ensuring that there is respect for the rule of law under his presidency and nothing will change that.
“We cannot be in the business of appeasing people to the detriment of our democratic arrangement and I don’t think the president is prepared, at all, to cede any ground on that matter.
“He has made it clear to the media that he is not prepared to back down on his mandate to protect and defend the constitution of our land.”
The Information Minister stressed that government will not tolerate any group of people who congregate for the purposes of infringing on other people’s rights.
He is certain that the manner in which the current issue is being handled will deter other groups from behaving like the Delta Force.
