A policy think-tank, the Danquah Institute says its week-long tour at entry points in the Volta Region revealed no sign of military intimidation of indigenes as rumoured or feared to be the case.
Government had deployed military officers to beef-up support for immigration officers struggling to effectively man the many unapproved routes to the country’s eastern border following its closure on the midnight of March 22, this year, as measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
The deployment generated controversies particularly in the Ketu South Municipality including allegation of military intimidation and discrimination by the citizens in that jurisdiction.
But at a press briefing on Saturday, the Executive Director of the Institute, Richard Ahiagbah, said his institution observed that the security agents were positively engaging with residents at the several entry points they visited.
“From Atikpoe to Shia, Honuta, Wli-Todzi, Agortime Todzi, Agortimekofe, Vudoaba, Ashanti Kpoeta, and here in Aflao township and the entry points, we observed zero sign of intimidation of the people.”
Mr Ahiagbah said the nationwide military deployment was part of enforcing the Executive Instrument (EI) 64 and 65 which was unanimously approved by Parliament to protect Ghanaian lives in the wake of Covid-19 and not to disenfranchise people in the Volta Region.
The Danquah Institute’s Boss described the idea that the military officers were in the region to prevent people from registering to vote as false pretext by the NDC to cause chaos and pursue voter registration illegalities.
“Voter Registration in the Region was taking place peacefully from Alavanyo to Aflao,” he noted.
He said the first-hand observation the NDC MPs had to speak to was their post briefing visit to the main border in Aflao and Wudoaba in the Ketu South Constituency and “everything else they have told us from their press briefing is made up and hearsay.”