Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, the Chairman of the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament has said removing Dr George Akuffo Dampare as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) would signify one of the mistakes of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
Mr Agyapong, who is the Member of Parliament for Assin Central and aspiring to lead the NPP to Election 2024 said Dr Dampare’s excellent performance as IGP was evident for all to see.
In a radio interview with Kumasi based Kessben FM over the weekend, Mr Agyapong said there has been significant reduction in robberies across the country since Dr Dampare took over as the IGP.
His call comes in the wake of public interest in the work of the special parliamentary committee set up to investigate the alleged plot to remove Dampare by some senior police officers as captured on a tape.
Mr Agyapong said Dr Dampare is one of the best IGP Ghana has ever had, hence the government should not fall to any plot to remove him from office.
“How many times have you heard of armed robbery since Dampare was made IGP? People were being killed and their money was being stolen in broad daylight. How many times have you seen this since Dampare came into office? Under him, the rate of armed robbery has reduced drastically”, he said.
He was of the view that the IGP was not being treated fairly, “Since I became the head of the Defence and Interior Committee, we have had a number of IGPs, and this man (Dampare), what he has done, I don’t think we are being fair to him… Don’t make the mistake of removing him.
Mr Agyapong also said the IGP has transformed the police headquarters such that the place now looks so clean and beautiful.
“I have called one of the guys (in the leaked tape) who is from my village and blasted him. We don’t like change,” he added.
“If you go to the police headquarters, you will realize that the man (Dr Dampare) has done well… I have fought with him once because of his refusal to act when the killer of J.B. Danquah confessed to him, but he has done really well,”