The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described the reasons government has given for the deployment of the military to the Volta Region as ‘hallow’ and ‘laughable’.

This comes after some residents of Ketu South complained about harassment following an increased security presence in the area which critics say is an intimidation tactic.

According to the NDC, the troops have been sent there to intimidate residents into abstaining from the upcoming voter registration exercise which begins Tuesday, June 30.

However, Volta Regional Minister Archibald Letsa and the Interior Minister Ambrose Dery dispute this.

The two Ministers say the troops are merely there to enforce the border closure as part of measures to control the importation of Covid-19 into the country.

But, Member of Parliament for the area, Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey in his address at a press briefing on Monday cautioned the Akufo-Addo-government not to insult the intelligence of Ghanaians.

He insisted that government’s decision to invade the Ketu South Municipality with security forces is mainly to disenfranchise residents of the area.

“One of the first Covid-19 cases we recorded in Ghana was in the Presidential entourage in Oslo. So this official reason being provided is not just hollow, it is laughable and represents an insult the intelligence of our people.

"The total Covid-19 case count in Togo stands at about 615, which is less than the Greater Accra, Ashanti Region, Western Region, Central Region and just about 75 cases above the case count in the Eastern Region.

"So if there's any fear of Covid-19 it should rather be the people of Togo who should be afraid of Ghanaians crossing the border to spread Covid-19 in Togo and not the other way round," he emphasised.

He added, “If the NPP government is looking for the real threat of Covid-19, they don’t have to look very far, so they should spare us the cock and bill story about the need to patrol the boarders to stop foreigners from coming into the country but have the courage to tell us the truth for ones.”

The lawmaker also said the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is obsessed with power and have always demonstrated by clamping down on people who do not stand with them.

"This siege in the Volta Region dates back to NPP's perennial hatred towards any group of people they perceive as standing between them and their insatiable desire for absolute political power,” he was categorical.