South Dayi MP Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has spoken out against the IGP’s order that all MPs’ police bodyguards turn in their firearms to the nearest police station in Assin North for the by-election.
On Monday, June 26, 2023, the IGP issued an order prohibiting the use of such firearms in the field. The decision follows a critical meeting between the EC, the political parties, and the leadership of the Ghana Police Service.
Soon after the meeting ended, the IGP, who had been in charge of the police force, issued the order to the bodyguards, instructing them to turn over their weapons to the armourer at the police station closest to their location in the Assin North Constituency.
In response to the IGP’s order, Dafeamekpor argued that the IGP lacked the authority to issue such an order under the Constitution.
He told the reporters in Assin North, “Bodyguards attached to MPs are part of their conditions of service. The IGP has no power to vary the conditions of service of a sitting MP in the same way he has no power to vary the conditions of service of a superior court judge in this republic.
“So for him to issue a statement and say that Police bodyguards of MPs should surrender their weapons to the nearest Police Station is unlawful and unconstitutional.”
He claimed the instruction was an effort to intimidate and annoy legislators, and he demanded that the IGP immediately rescind it.
Today, Tuesday, June 27, 2023, candidates from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) will face off for the Assin North parliamentary seat.
