Former president John Dramani Mahama says the murder of the Mfantseman legislator, Ekow Quansah Hayford, is a wake-up call to leaders of the country to ensure an improvement in the security of the state in order to safeguard the lives of Ghanaians.
According to the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, the largest opposition party, insecurity issues including armed robbery is a daily phenomenon which Ghanaians battle with, hence the killing of the Member of Parliament for Mfantseman is a reminder to leaders to initiate proactive measures to curb the growing insecurity issues in the country.
Mr. Mahama was speaking during the one-week memorial ceremony of the slain MP which was held on October 15, 2020 at Mankessim in the Central Region.
“I believe that it is a call to us, the leaders, to make sure that our people are safe because this is something that Ghanaians face everyday. There is armed robbery all over the country. But for somebody like him to die in an incident like this, it means we need to wakeup and make sure that we deal with the issue of armed robbery so that all our people will be safe,” he told the media.
Expressing his condolences to the bereaved family, Mr. Mahama reiterated the need to provide personal bodyguards for MPs as an interim measure to safeguard their lives. He asserted that while it is important to improve general security in the country, government officials particularly legislators must be given security protection to guarantee their safety as they work to eradicate the growing insecurity in the country.
“I think that in the meantime we need to give some protection to our leaders like the MPs and provide them with armed guards so that they are able to protect them while we work towards making the country safe for all of us,” he added.
There are concerns of insecurity in the country following incessant robbery attacks and revolts in the Volta Region by secessionists groups.
The concerns have since heightened after the Mfantseman MP, Ekow Quansah Hayford was murdered while returning from a campaign trip on the Mankessim Abeadze to Dominase road by alleged armed robbers.
On October 15, a one-week commemoration of his death was observed with leading government officials including vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in attendance.
