A former Northern Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Daniel Bugri Naabu, says his decision to record the conversation about a proposed plot to remove the Inspector General of Police from office, was to safeguard the interest of the party.

Mr Naabu, who confirmed the authenticity of the secret tape, indicated that his plan was to forward the same to President Akufo-Addo regarding the officers' concerns over the party's fate with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) George Akuffo Dampare at the helm.

"I think that was my main interest, to protect the party," he said on Monday, August 28.

He made this statement when he appeared before the Committee set up to probe the tape, where he also mentioned the names of the other persons who were in the meeting.

According to him, the sensitive nature of the issue warranted that he briefed the President in a detailed manner, hence his decision to secure a recording gadget for the activity.

“The reason for recording this tape is that they are coming to tell me to go and tell the President something that they know what they are saying, and it is either I don’t go to tell the President and then I and my party suffer for it, and if I also go to talk to the President, it is good to tell him the right thing and since I cannot keep everything they were telling me at that point, it was very good to record, and I know the President that if I go and tell him something, and it turns not to be true, next time he won’t give me respect,” he said.

This comes weeks after the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin tasked a seven-member committee to probe the leaked audio recording proposing the clandestine removal of the IGP from office.

The conversation on the recording suggests solicitations by an unnamed influence-peddling policeman suggesting that the current Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare be ousted from office so that someone more sympathetic to the cause of the ruling party replaces him.

The whole plot, per the conversation, is to get the police to support the rigging of election 2024 in favour of the governing NPP.

The Minority MPs have protested vehemently against the alleged plot, and have called for a forensic probe to fish out those engaged in the unhealthy conversation so they may face the law.

MPs on the Majority side have doubted the authenticity of the recording and have also denied any association with or desire to rig any election, saying the NPP will win the 2024 polls fairly.