Kofi Bentil, Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, has urged the New Patriotic Party government to refrain from making decisions that could create the impression that the 2024 election is being manipulated to favour the Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
Akufo-Addo and Kofi Bentil
Although Bentil supports Dr Bawumia, he insists that his victory must be achieved legitimately. “Everybody knows where I stand but if Dr Bawumia is going to win this election, let him win it fair and square,” he stated on Joy FM’s Newsfile on Saturday.
Bentil’s remarks follow President Akufo-Addo’s appointment of Commissioner of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno, as the new Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations. This decision has prompted some Ghanaians to question the motive, suggesting it could be an attempt to “clip the wings” of IGP Dr George Dampare or remove him.
He argued that the President made an error in appointing a deputy IGP with a specific task, asserting that this decision lends credibility to the allegations in the leaked audio suggesting a plot to oust Dr Damparefor his firm stance against election rigging.
“The NPP as a group absolved itself sufficiently when they voted together with the minority to accept the Commission’s report in Parliament, and that showed that the NPP didn’t have a problem with IGP Dampareand was not seeking to remove him,” he said.
IGP Dampare congratulates COP Yohonu on his promotion to Deputy IGP
Bentil however expressed concern over actions by certain government operatives that he believes undermine this commitment. “Now you clearly have a situation where operatives within this same government have gone to do something which is clearly not permitted within the law so it brings back that situation.”
“We’re not stupid, people see what is going on and it doesn’t help anybody,” he warned, adding that the actions of these operatives could damage public perception.
“When you have a situation where the nation is moving in a certain direction, what will change minds is talking. Dr Bawumia is campaigning, so those operatives who think that this is a way to win the election are wrong and they should stop it!”
It remains to be seen if the government will heed the admonishment of Kofi Bentil.
