Former Attorney General, Martin Amidu, raises alarms over recent government decisions regarding security administration in Ghana’s Upper East Region (UER), specifically in the Bawku Traditional Area.

In an article on Thursday, November 7, he questioned the motives behind a recent reshuffle of Regional Ministers, especially as it relates to the impending elections in December 2024.

He suggested that the reshuffle could have significant implications for election fairness in an area already fraught with longstanding chieftaincy disputes and security challenges.

According to Amidu, the sudden swap of the UER Minister with the Upper West Regional Minister in April 2024 raises serious concerns about a potential political agenda.

The move, he argues, “appears purposefully planned and executed as part of a long game to facilitate a particular security and electoral objective of election interference.”

He further questions the government’s true intentions, noting, “Paradoxically and instructively, it remains the only reshuffle swapping Regional Ministers within the past years of this Government’s administration.”

Mr Amidu contextualises the importance of the Bawku Traditional Area, which, along with the neighbouring North East Region (NER), represents a substantial voter base. Both areas have six constituencies each, with almost equal numbers of registered voters.

He points out the political stakes, noting that the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) candidate for 2024, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, hails from the NER.

The close voter distribution, according to Amidu, “will definitely impact the electoral fortunes of the two northern brothers contesting the Presidency.”

He argues that securing free, fair, and transparent elections in Bawku is not only crucial for the region but for Ghana’s entire democratic framework.

Mr Amidu further critiques the Vice President’s role in the ongoing crisis.

Following a resurgence of violence in Bawku in late October, which reportedly claimed over 20 lives, Mr Amidu underscores that the Vice President, who was the acting President at the time, failed to address the situation adequately.

“What, the blood of all these 23 individuals spilt needlessly without any preventive action under the watch of the acting President and potential President of Ghana?” Mr Amidu asks, describing the situation as “a weakness of leadership at a critical time.”

Moreover, Mr Amidu expresses concerns about the Attorney General’s lack of priority in addressing the Bawku conflict legally, noting that only Assistant State Attorneys were assigned to represent the government in the Court of Appeal.

This, he contrasts with high-level representation in “cases involving almost zero national security implications,” such as certain political protests.

Mr Amidu argues that this selective engagement indicates a broader indifference to the region’s security challenges, with potentially dire consequences for the electoral process.

In conclusion, he emphasises the threat of disenfranchisement in the Bawku Traditional Area, calling on Ghanaians to guard against election interference.

“I refuse to be duped that the October 2024 crisis that has engulfed the Bawku Traditional Area is accidental and not orchestrated for the achievement of political electoral objectives,” he warns.

His call to action underscores the importance of vigilance: “A stitch in time saves nine.”