Fulfil Our Promised National Security Jobs – NDC’s Taskforce to Mahama

The Ashanti Regional Branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Taskforce, which was tasked with election security for the 2024 elections, has expressed dissatisfaction with what they perceive to be the party leadership’s disregard.

Even though the taskforce took potentially lethal risks to win votes for the party in the region against what they say was a well-coordinated security apparatus of the then-ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), they say the NDC has not acknowledged their efforts or even offered a word of gratitude.

At a press conference in Kumasi, the group, fed up with the lack of recognition, demanded that the ruling government recognize their loyalty. In an interview with the media, Ashanti NDC Security Taskforce commander Maxwell Hope said:

“We want to extend our greetings to President John Dramani Mahama and Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang. Before the 2024 elections, every active party member, from the polling stations to the national level including campaign teams was aware of the crucial role we played.

Even President Mahama himself knows this. So why has the party leadership failed to recognize our efforts after the elections?”.

Prior to the elections, Maxwell disclosed, they were instructed by the party’s security leadership to help secure 29% of the vote in the Ashanti Region.

They claim that by being more watchful than anticipated at voting places and collation centres, they prevented the NPP from rigging the election.

“We exerted excessive effort to reach the 29% goal. Still, we haven’t received even a simple “thank you.” Is that right? “What?” he asked.

The party will provide them positions in the national security system, he emphasized, if they carried out their mission.

“Gbevlo Lartey led that promise, and we are waiting to hear from him soon. If nothing is done, we will be forced to take action,” Maxwell cautioned.

He also blasted the exclusion of key NDC members who supported the party’s security efforts in the area, including as Joseph Yamin, Samuel Sarpong, and former Deputy Minister for Works and Housing Samuel Yaw Adusei, from government positions.

“We have not been hired, and those who funded our activities have been marginalized.” How will we make it through till the next election, in your opinion? When the time comes, who do we turn to for assistance?” he groaned.

According to Alhaji Tanko Bashir, coordinator of the NDC’s Ashanti Regional Security Taskforce, some of the newly hired policemen were recruiting party enemies instead of loyalists who wanted to win the election.

“The party leadership stressed to us after our meeting that the NDC could only win the 2024 election with a 29% Ashanti vote share. It was impossible to locate these appointees at that time.

Across all 47 constituencies in the region, our taskforce members started activities with personal monies until national support could be obtained.

We had support from people like Joseph Yamin, Gbevlo Lartey, Kenneth Adjei, Yaw Adusei, and Samuel Sarpong. But what have they gained from the party? And he asked.

Tanko further stated that Gbevlo Lartey personally assured them of job placements within the national security agency if they achieved the party’s goal. Because of this commitment, we went above and above to ensure that our members had the training they required to safeguard President Mahama’s votes.

He then asked the NDC leadership, “If you let the sheep graze and only a few come back, will you let the rest go out the next day?”.