The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, has been advised not to respond to speculations as a soldier since it is not in their habit to talk more.
He has been told to have kept his cool over the rumours concerning his refusal to accept the role of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) position.
The COAS, has indicated in an address at Burma Camp Monday, January 15, 2024, that people are jealous of his achievements and have resulted to spreading misinformation about him, accusing him of stopping a shakeup in the military.
“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.
But reacting to the issue, Peter Lanchene Toobu, a Member of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee said the COAS shouldn’t have responded to the rumours because it is not in the habit of soldiers to do so.
“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.
He also advised the media not to give publicity to the issue to make it partisan.
“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.
