A political scientist at the University of Ghana, Prof Ransford Gyampo, has urged the Akufo-Addo administration to confront the damaging revelations made in a leaked recording regarding Ghana’s police commander, Dr George Akuffo Dampare.
The claimed scheme by persons presumed to be high-ranking members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a key member of the Ghana Police Service to depose the incumbent Inspector General of Police, Dr George Akuffo Dampare, from office ahead of the 2024 elections was outlined in the stated hidden audio.
The unidentified individuals involved in the recorded conversation expressed frustration over the IGP’s alleged reluctance to align the police force’s activities with the interests of the ruling party.
They expressed reservations about his leadership style and alleged ties to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
“I know there are others who are also good for this position. If I don’t get and this man is changed and those people that we think are our men get it, [I will be happy]… Because we need to break this 8. That is important, we need to break the 8… Because I wouldn’t want a doctor to become the flagbearer and then we lose the elections,” one of the men who is reportedly a police officer in the audio is heard saying.
As a result, they concluded that carrying out the NPP’s ‘Breaking the 8’ agenda would be difficult with Dampare as police chief.
Prof Gyampo, on the other hand, feels that if the current trend continues, the government should abandon any plans in that direction.
He posted on Facebook that the President should take decisive action on the recording to demonstrate that he is not considering such a scheme.