Leaked tape: No IGP can influence the victory, defeat of a party – Dan Botwe

Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Daniel Kwaku Botwe is surprised about the fuss the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is making about a leaked tape with its content suggesting a plot to remove the IGP Dr George Akuffo Dampare.

The minister who is also the people representative of Okere in parliament, seems to suggest he is yet to appreciate the power any IGP can have to make a party win or lose an election for the NDC to take the content of the leaked tape as sacrosanct.

Dan Botwe was speaking on Kumasi-based Pure FM monitored by MyNewsGh.com where he noted, no police chief can influence an election to go a particular way.

“I don’t see the role, an IGP plays in helping someone win or lose an election. We all need peace, the IGP takes charge of security matters, just like Dampare supervised security during the by-elections in Kumawu and there was no incident.

"We went for the Assin North elections there was no incident, so we all will like to have an IGP who will continue to do that and I know the 2024 elections will go on without incidence.

“To accuse the government and make it seem that the current NPP government is scheming to get the IGP out, I will disagree. I can cite a number of instances where an IGP was not picked by this government but we won the elections. I don’t see any reason why a government should change an IGP before they win an election” he opined.

The Minister notes that he is not against any investigations into the leaked tape and its content but, warned the NDC to desist from making political capital out of it.

“If anybody is captured on tape discussing issues that are against the laws of the land and there are calls for investigations, I don’t have any issues with that.

"But the way and manner some NDC MPs were talking about the tape on the floor of parliament to suggest the contents of the tape are true that the government of the day wants to do that”

“In the first place when the government appointed this IGP, it did not leak a tape before giving him the job. If the government wants to remove the IGP there is no need to record any tape to do that.

"To create the impression that government wants to do that, the government needs an IGP that will automatically like the government to help it in elections is just baseless”, he argued.