Special Aide to Former President John Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has defended a speech made by the aspiring National Democratic Congress flagbearer concerning the recruitment of party faithful into the security services when he comes to office.

John Mahama speaking to party executives and members in the Northern Region said, “Our people, our branch executives’ children, you just stand by. If we’re distributing any jobs, if we’re recruiting people into the police, the army, the prisons service, the fire service and the immigration, we will recruit all our young people too to go and work.”

Defending the former president’s statement, Joyce Bawah said John Mahama’s statement was merely in reaction to the partisan nature of the security services under the Akufo-Addo administration.

She alleged that people recruited into the security services during the erstwhile Mahama administration have been either laid-off or denied promotion, while members of the NPP’s Delta Forces are being recruited and promoted in the security services.

According to her, while the NDC has no vigilante group like the NPP’s Delta Forces, there is nothing wrong if the former president suggests that his government will employ qualified party faithful into the security services.

“What is good for the goose is good for the gander. If the NDC people who are qualified – don’t forget the NDC has no…Delta forces, at least, there is no record of any such person be they regular or irregular, persons of any form of militia as such unlike the Delta Forces of the New Patriotic Party.

“Look, we ought to be very honest, we need to take all of our gloves off, let’s speak to power what is truthful. Our security is at an all-time low, morale is low, promotions are terrible, done along partisan lines …” she said.

Meanwhile, the NPP's Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah, has called on Ghanaians to condemn the statement made by John Mahama.

According to him, his statement breaches Section 15 of the Security and Intelligences Act (526).