Prez. Akufo-Addo suspends U/W Regional Minister

• Posted on February 1, 2018
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

President Nana Akufo-Addo has suspended the Upper West Regional Minister, Sulemana Alhassan.

This is after he is reported to have protected a group of angry youth believed to be members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who besieged the Upper West Regional office of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) on Wednesday evening.

The Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Amidu Ishaq, will act in the stead of the suspended Minister pending the conclusion of an investigation into the incident, according to a statement from the Presidency.

The statement added that “President Akufo-Addo reiterates his commitment to the application of the laws of the land, which must occur without fear or favour, affection or ill-will, and without recourse to the political or ethnic affiliations of any citizen of the land.”

At about 5:00 pm on Wednesday, the youth from the Wa East district, numbering about 30, arrived in two pickups and a minibus, and stormed the NADMO offices at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council.

After the police got to the scene of the disturbances and effected the arrest of three persons, Alhassan Suleiman ordered the release of the suspects.

He reportedly told the police that ” This is a party matter, I will have a meeting with them and get back to you”.  After that, the attackers walked home freely.

Following the incident, workers of NADMO declared a strike today [Thursday], and demanded that until the suspects are arrested, they will not return to work.

They slammed the Regional Minister, whose duty is to protect citizens as the Regional Chairman of the Security Council, for choosing to shield the attackers.

They said the Minister demonstrated no value of their lives, as the attack on the offices of NADMO led to an aide to the NADMO Regional Director being beaten to pulp.

The Regional NADMO Director, Isaac Seidu, who appeared to be the main target of the attack, however escaped unhurt.

Isaac Seidu told Citi News that “the police came and met the boys around my office but when they wanted to make the arrest, the Minister [Sulemana Alhassan] came down and prevented them.”

Find below the full statement from the Presidency

Political vigilantism in Upper West

This incident marks the third major disturbance perpetrated by youth aligned to the NPP in Upper West Region in the last few months.

On January 22, some NPP youth in the Wa municipality vandalized the residence of the Municipal Chief Executive of the area, Issahaku Moomin Tahiru.

The rampaging youth also vandalized the family house of the MCE and two other houses belonging to his supporters.

In November 2017, NPP youth in Gwollu, the capital of the Sissala West District stormed the precinct of the Assembly and locked up the District Chief Executive, Mohammed Bakor in his office.

They had accused the DCE of engaging in “divide and rule” tactics, and failing to address their concerns.

After the Wa incident, seven NPP supporters were arrested and charged with rioting, including the Sissala West Constituency Chairman of the NPP.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa