Tamale North MP Alhassan Suhuyini says it is imperative for President Akufo-Addo to address the nation on the issue of the Volta separatist group trying to declare the Volta Region an independent country.

According to him, the President’s credibility as ECOWAS chairman will be called into question if he does not address the violence that occurred on Friday.

Mr Suhuyini explained that there are expectations on the President to resolve the Mali coup after heading a meeting as Chair where he promised to ensure the smooth transfer of power in the country.

“This issue in his own backyard can make it impossible for him to have any credibility to deal with the issues in Mali especially if he is not able to deal well with what is happening here.”

The MPs comment comes after the group in the early hours of Friday, September 25, blocked major entries into the Volta Region claiming independence as Western Togoland.

Most passengers travelling to areas in the Volta Region including Tefle, Tsopoli, and Juapong were left stranded as a result of the development.

The secessionists also attacked the Aveyime and Mepe police stations in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region.

The group of armed men, numbering about 50, forcibly took over both stations simultaneously; overpowering the police officers and making away with the weapons in the armoury.

The group at Mepe after hoisting a Western Togoland flag joined their colleagues at the Aveyime police station, seized two police vehicles, held three officers, including the Police Chief, hostage and injured one.

Doctors who first attended to a police chief caught up in the revolt by secessionist group on Friday have revealed that they retrieved 19 pellets of D B bullet from the body.

Speaking to JoyNews’ Ivy Sertodjie, the Medical Director of Bator Catholic Hospital, Dr Bernard Atuguba said although two officers were severely injured, Divisional Police Commander, ASP Dennis Fiakpui was the only one who reported to the hospital with a gunshot injury.

One member of the group is reported to have died in a fire exchange with the joint security team which had been deployed to restore calm.

Thirty-One people were arrested and flown to the offices of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) office in Accra for questioning into happenings in the region.

Mr Suhuyini stated that the President’s address on the issue will bring calm and assure citizens of government’s intention to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, government has distanced itself from the attacks by the secessionists engaged in the revolt.

The Information Minister said claims that the occurrence is part of a ploy by the Akufo-Addo-led administration to unnecessarily heighten security presence in the Region are figments of some people’s imagination.

However, the Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called for an independent investigation into the attack of some police stations by suspected members of the secessionist group.

Sammy Gyamfi said the government is complicit considering its failure to nip their activities in the bud as the police claim to have had intelligence.

“For me, this is not a matter of intelligence failure, we are dealing with a situation which is more complex than some of us think. We are dealing with a situation which potentially has the involvement of state actors,” he said on Newsfile, Saturday.