The Majority New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament has refuted claims by the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) regarding recruitment into security services.
The allegations, which the majority caucus described as “baseless and preposterous,” have already sparked controversy ahead of the 2024 general election.
Addressing a news conference in Parliament on Tuesday, Deputy Majority Leader Patricia Appiagyei emphasized that no NPP parliamentary candidate or Member of Parliament has been allocated recruitment slots into any of the security services.
“These claims are not only false but are a desperate attempt by the Minority to incite public disfavour against the government,” she said.
Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson had claimed that 276 NPP parliamentary candidates, including 138 sitting MPs, were each given 30 recruitment slots in the security agencies.
This, according to the Minority, would result in 8,250 new recruits, a figure Madam Appiagyei described as “mathematically and administratively ludicrous.”
“To suggest that 8,250 new recruits could be absorbed into our security forces, in a system that traditionally accommodates between 1,000 to 1,200 recruits annually, shows a profound misunderstanding of the operational and financial frameworks of our security institutions,” Madam Appiagyei pointed out.
The Asokwa MP also criticized Dr. Ato Forson’s allegations as a deliberate distortion of reality, aimed at undermining the integrity of the government.
“Such allegations serve only to provoke unwarranted tension and foster an environment of mistrust and political rivalry that our country does not need,” she stated.