Govt withdraws Military Guards to Speaker of Ghana Parliament

The Ghana Armed Forces under the Chief Command of President Akufo-Addo has withdrawn military personnel on secondment to the Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, for his official personal protection.

Four military personnel were detailed to Hon Bagbin, since he was elected Speaker of Ghana’s 8th Parliament in 2021, by the NDC caucus in Parliament

A copy of a letter addressed directly to the Speaker and making rounds in social media, the GAF claimed the officers were deployed without proper procedure.

The letter signed by Major General NP Andoh further noted the deployment will be regularized after their withdrawal but did not indicate when the redeployment would be effected.

But in his response, the Speaker said: “The office of the Rt. Hon. Speaker, Alban S.K. Bagbin has taken note of the withdrawal of four military officers posted to assist in the protection of the Speaker. The attempt to strip the Speaker of security protection is untenable.

“In a country that takes pride in its democratic institutions and processes, the decision to reduce the number of security personnel assigned to the Speaker detracts from the political gains that Ghana has made, and is a bad precedent,” the letter from the Speaker added.