Former Northern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Daniel Bugri Naabu, has confirmed the validity of the leaked tape suggesting a plan to oust the current Inspector General of Police (IGP).
The paramount chief also confirmed that it is his voice that is in the tape.
Appearing before the Committee set up to probe the tape on Monday, August 28, Mr Naabu also mentioned the names of the other persons who were in the meeting.
According to him, the meeting took place at his office in Osu even though he could not remember the date of the meeting.
“My voice is there…well one Commander Asare, a police commander, but I don’t know which district or which section he commands, but he introduced himself to me when he came to my office that he was a police commander based at the police headquarters…I asked him where does he know me and he told me that during the time of political campaigns in 2014, 2015, 2016, I used to come to Wa with the President and the Vice President and Alhaji Short I said that if he says that, then it is true.
“Apart from Commander Asare, there was one man who later joined called COP Mensah, but he is on leave now prior to his retirement and he was also part of it, and later one Gyebi who is also a police superintendent at the Police Headquarters, also joined through a phone call,” he said.
Background
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin tasked the seven-member committee to probe the leaked audio recording proposing the clandestine ouster of the IGP.
The conversation on the recording suggests solicitations by an unnamed influence-peddling policeman seeking that the current Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare be ousted from office so someone more sympathetic to the cause of the ruling party replaces him.
The whole plot, per the conversation, is to get the police to support the rigging of Election 2024 in favour of the ruling NPP.
The Minority MPs have protested vehemently against the alleged plot, and have called for a forensic probe to fish out those engaged in the unhealthy conversation so they may face the law.
MPs on the Majority side have doubted the authenticity of the recording and have also denied any association with or desire to rig any election, saying the NPP will win the 2024 polls cleanly.