The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is accusing the New Patriotic Party (NPP) of orchestrating the arrest of five women on Wednesday by the Ghana Immigration Service Officers at Bongase in the Banda District of the Bono Region. 

The alleged Ivorian were accused of attempting to register in the ongoing voter registration exercise at Bongase.

The NPP, had accused Member of Parliament for Banda, Ahmed Ibrahim of bringing the women into the constituency to register.

But at a press conference in Sunyani, Saturday, Bono Regional Secretary of the NDC, Dennis Yeboah Twumasi, the party said, well-known members of the NPP including one of the girl’s landlady hatched the plan to divert attention after their activists resulted in the killing of a 28-year-old Silas Wulochamey at Banda Kabrono.

Twumasi said the accusation was first hatched by an employee of the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, Ghana, a well-known NPP Member, and a self-acclaimed National Security Operative only known as Prince. 

“Prince recorded and directed the video clip of these vulnerable Young Ladies with a voice-over commentary accusing Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim and the NDC for bringing foreigners from Ivory Coast to register in Banda”, he said.

“A known NPP Women activist led these ladies to register at the D/A Primary School at Bongase Kramoline Registration Center with a promise of being one of their guarantors”.

He wondered how these ladies, originally from Pofia in the Nandom Municipality of the Upper West Region and residents of Bongase with NPP members Yaw Zugu and Madam Akua Donkor as their lanlords are now said to be from Ivory Coast.

The NDC is therefore, calling on the government to repatriate the ladies or prosecute them, together with their alleged accomplices.

“We call on the Interior Minister and the Attorney General’s office to prosecute the five young ladies together with their landlord/lady, including their alleged accomplices who led them to the registration center”.

The NDC also said the attempt by the leadership of the NPP to divert attention from Silas’ by fabricating lies about Hon Ahmed Ibrahim is disrespectful to the young teacher training graduate’s family. 

Twumasi noted that the government is approving entry clearance at an alarming rate, all in the name of the ongoing register.

The party is also appealing to the NPP to halt their attempt to turn the political violence that has characterized the voter registration exercise in Banda since July 13 into a chieftaincy dispute. 

Banda Constituency Secretary of the NDC, Noah Okrah said the people of Kabrono (where Silas was stabbed to death) and Banda Ahenkroh have been living peacefully over the years. 

“There is no dispute between the two towns. What happened was political violence and the perpetrators must be fished out and dealt with individually to serve as a deterrent,” he added.