Peter Lanchene Toobu, a Member of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee has discouraged the media from granting publicity to the scramble for the office of Chief of Defence Staff in the military.
He says the Ghana Armed Forces’ role in the country is paramount, and propagating the recent happenings will politicise the matter which would not be in the state’s interest.
According to him, the military, have, over the years worked independently without political interference making its approach nonpartisan.
“The Ghana Armed Forces is a serious state institution that should never ever be partisan in its approach. And that is how the appointment of the CDS even though it is political, after your appointment you work for the state and not the party in government.
“So what is happening in the Ghana Armed Forces now as Prof said, we don’t need to give it currency,” he said on Accra-based JoyFM Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
His comments follow the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah debunking rumours of refusing an appointment as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
Addressing the speculations, he described the allegations as “unfounded” and expressing concern over “unwarranted attacks” that have been directed at him.
He told soldiers at the Burma Camp Monday, January 15, 2024, that he was not impeding changes in the military ranks, as being paraded around.
The General went on to detail the extreme lengths the rumours have reached, including claims of attempts to harm him through mystical means.
“The name Oppong-Preprah is stirring stomachs and heads and creating fear in people. I don’t understand why and so I have been attacked and they keep attacking me.
“Even this morning just before I got here, a publication was sent to me where it is being indicated that I have refused to accept the appointment of CDS and as a result, there is a stop in the military shakeup,” he said.
This was barely two weeks after the presidency released a statement debunking rumours which claimed it intended to undertake a politically-motivated shake-up in the country’s military hierarchy to give the ruling party an advantage in the 2024 general elections.
Reacting to the Chief of Army Staff’s outburst, Peter Toobu said Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah should have ignored the circulating rumours.
“But the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Oppong-Peprah, he should understand that where he came from, from the Armour Regiment in Southern Command and you’re now the Chief of Army staff, I mean, you’re gradually inching towards the top.
“Whether it’ll come it will come. But the truth of the matter is that soldiers talk less and soldiers don’t respond to speculation. Whatever it is, just be the soldier that you are and defend Ghana even at the peril of your life that is a soldier,” he said.
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