Prof. Oquaye backs Kojo Bamba’s election, says NPP needs men to protect ballot

Former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, has backed the election of former Delta Force leader Kojo Ofosu Boadu, affectionately called Kojo Bamba as the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) First Vice Chairman, saying the party needs people who can protect its votes during elections.

According to Prof. Oquaye on Joy FM today, the NPP had dissolved its party security groups following the passage of the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, and had agreed that the Ghana Police Service should be responsible for security during elections.

However, he said events during the 2024 general election had raised concerns about the ability of the police to protect ballot boxes and ensure peaceful elections.

He alleged that some persons associated with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) seized ballot boxes, attacked people and disrupted voting during the election.

Prof. Oquaye argued that the NPP could not simply ignore such incidents and expect its supporters to remain unprotected.

He said while he did not support the establishment of a parallel security system to replace the police, the NPP must be prepared to defend itself if the state security agencies failed to protect its people.

“Because if the state will not protect you, you will protect yourself,” he said.

Prof. Oquaye defended Kojo Bamba’s election, insisting that the NPP should not be seen as restoring its former vigilante groups.

He said the party had men capable of responding to threats, but stressed that the issue should not be reduced to “machoism” in Ghanaian politics.

“The NPP has men. Therefore, let us take machoism out of this politics,” he said.

When asked directly whether he supported the establishment of a protective group within the NPP, Prof. Ocquaye said the country must seriously address what happened during the last election.

He further said that when criminals or attackers enter a home, the father of the house would call for the men to protect the family.

Prof. Oquaye maintained that his position was rooted in the need to protect Ghana’s peace and ensure that no political party believed it had a monopoly over violence or intimidation.

By: Jacob Aggrey