Assembly members in the Ejisu Municipality of the Ashanti Region suspended a scheduled general meeting on Thursday (7 May) after suspected National Security operatives reportedly stormed the venue and began screening participants with electronic scanning devices, according to officials and witnesses.

The meeting, which was expected to consider development and administrative issues, had not yet started when the operatives entered the assembly hall in uniform and demanded security checks for members before proceedings could continue.

The sudden operation led to confusion and the immediate suspension of the meeting, with assembly members raising concerns about procedure and lack of prior notification.

Frank Ackah Nelson, President of the Ghana Association of Assembly Members (GAAM), condemned the incident, saying such interventions were not part of normal assembly operations.

“We are condemning it because in assembly meetings, you only come when you are invited by the assembly, and we don’t operate with National Security. It doesn’t happen,” he said. “If there is a peculiar issue, I think the assembly members have to be informed that National Security was going to brief the assembly. Otherwise, we don’t invite them to come and scan the assembly hall, so it is condemnable.”

He questioned the circumstances under which the operatives were deployed, adding that the municipal leadership could not plausibly claim ignorance.

“The MCE says she is not aware of their presence, but I don’t believe it. I can’t understand it. Being the chairperson of the Municipal Security Council, she cannot tell me that she is unaware of their presence,” he said.

Deepened tensions

Nelson said the situation had deepened tensions among assembly members, many of whom declined to proceed with the meeting.

“For now, I have summoned a national executive meeting so we will come out with our findings,” he added. “The assembly members are not happy. This is unprecedented, and they are not ready to come to the meeting until the matter is resolved.”

Authorities have not yet publicly commented on the presence of the security personnel or the reason for the screening exercise.