Bagbin Requested Military Deployment To Parliament

The presence of a team of uniformed and armed military personnel at the Parliament of Ghana on the morning of Tuesday October 22, 2024, was to fulfill an official request put in by the Speaker of Parliament, the Rt. Hon. Kingsford Alban Bagbin, an official statement from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has clarified.

““On Monday 21 October 2024, the Speaker of Parliament, Right Honourable Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, through the Clerk of Parliament formally requested security assistance from GAF for routine Canine and Bomb Sweeps of the Chamber”, the statement from the Armed Forces explained.

The statement was issued at a time a section of the media had gone public with news reports suggesting that the said military personnel were deployed to Parliament on the orders of the Executive wing of Government to interfere with the works of the Legislature.

The reports caused an uproar and public backlash at the Armed Forces.

A day before the incident, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority Caucus n Parliament had held a press conference which among other things, alleged it had information that the military would be sent to Parliament to disrupt proceedings.

The NDC MP’s at the said press conference were emphatic that any soldier that shows up in Parliament the next day would be noted and dealt with if and when the NDC wins the next elections and returns to political power.

The statement from the Ghana Armed Forces, dated Tuesday October 21, and signed by Brigadier General E. Aggrye-Quarshie, the Director General, Public Relations described the reports as misinformation and said such reports tarnish the image of the Forces.

The statement further clarified: “It is essential to clarify that GAF personnel were not present at the Grand Arena to interfere with Parliamentary proceedings. Their role was exclusively to conduct these routine sweeps to ensure the safety and security of the facility by checking for any explosive devices or harmful substances.”