The New Patriotic Party’s Member of Parliament for Efutu constituency, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has rubbished claims made by the NDC’s Member of Parliament, Kwame Governs Agboza that, President Akufo-Addo’s decision to contribute troops to the Gambia is an act of declaring war.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the Adaklu MP is only looking at the political position of his party where they want to find everything wrong with President Akufo-Addo’s decision rather than doing some due diligence and coming out with facts to support his claims.
Speaking on Citi FM’s Eye Witness News, the Efutu legislator argued that “the power given to the President to contribute troops for any mission as it’s happening today has already been given to him by the ratification deposited at the African Union and the United Nations. Is part of our international laws, if you have a law in force why would you go and consult parliament again?” he asked.
“I think my brother [Kwame Agboza] hasn’t done some much more work, and he’s playing political mischief instead of educating the public,” he told the host, Richard Dela Sky.
Mr Markin added that the principle of responsibility to protect enjoins all nations to take steps to protect lives and properties especially when leadership of a particular country failed, therefore active preventive steps are required to prevent humanitarian crisis so that innocent people are killed.
President Akufo-Addo’s decision to send Ghanaian soldiers to intervene in the Gambia’s political situation has met fierce criticism from the opposition NDC especially the Member of Parliament from the Adaklu constituency in the Volta Region.
Despite the situation in the tiny West African country, Mr Agbodza maintains that Ghana’s legislators should have deliberated on the matter before committing soldiers to that cause.
He further argued: “If there was an aggression against Ghana, obviously the president [could] take the lead as the Commander-In-Chief and make a decision, but there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gambia.”
Mr Agbodza is on record to have said “President Akufo-Addo’s move is a pre-planned aggression against another sovereign country.”