Bryan Acheampong, the newly appointed minister of food and agriculture, claims it would be unfair to hold him responsible for the unrest that marred the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.
The former Minister of State at the Ministry of National Security claims that holding him accountable for the riots would be unfair and unjust.
On Monday, February 20, during his vetting before the Appointments Committee of Parliament, he made this statement in response to questions about the violence from Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga.
“Mr. Ayariga, it is not fair that if you are a Minister of State at that level or a supervisor, an IGP or CDS and your guys go out to carry out an assignment and they act improperly, a policeman acts improperly in Bawku, and the IGP is held accountable or is chastised,” the Abetifi MP remarked. Even if what you say is true, it’s still unfair.
“You can charge him with failing to instruct his guys, but you cannot hold such a person personally responsible; it is unfair and it is wrong.
“This is the predicament I’m in, even if I allowed it, but in this case, it wasn’t even me; that’s a blatant example of injustice, and that’s what you should be fighting for me on,” she said.
The Justice Emile Short Commission was created by President Akufo-Addo under Article 278 of the 1992 Constitution to investigate the events and related violence that characterized the by-election on January 31, 2019.
On Thursday, March 14, 2019, the Commission gave Mr. Akufo-Addo a copy of its findings. On Friday, March 15, 2019, the government produced a White Paper in response to the report, rejecting the majority of its recommendations.
However, several members of the public, particularly those from the opposition NDC, criticized the administration for failing to put important recommendations from the study into action.
