Festus Aboagye denies criticising Mahama’s national security appointments

Security Analyst (Rtd) Colonel Festus Aboagye has refuted claims that he criticized President John Dramani Mahama's National Security appointments.

Reports had alleged that Retired Colonel Aboagye described the President’s National Security appointments as unconstitutional.

In a statement, the Security Analyst dismissed these claims as deliberate misrepresentations of his views and urged the public to disregard the false attributions made against him.

“This article is a fabrication and a deliberate attempt to misconstrue my ideas and views on recent discussions I have had in the media,” he said. “I have never made any such statements, and I urge the public to disregard all attributions made in the article.”

Colonel Aboagye clarified that his comments were focused on recommending restoration of the National Security framework to its constitutionally mandated status.

“To the contrary, I argued that the non-transparent manner in which ‘operatives’ were recruited, trained, and employed with arms was against the provisions of the Constitution. Therefore, I expect the new administration to ‘clean up’ the system, restore it to its constitutionally mandated status, and quickly fill any gaps created by the departure of the former operatives so it can stand ready to fulfil the task of resolving the Bawku conflict as directed by the President,” he explained.

He reiterated his commitment to providing accurate and constructive commentary on national security issues.

“I remain committed to providing accurate and constructive commentary on national security matters and will continue to do so with integrity and respect for the truth,” he concluded.

Read below the statement by Festus Aboagye (Rtd)

Statement of Rejection of an Opera News Publication

I, Colonel Aboagye (Retired), categorically reject the news item Abena Lindo wrote in Opera News titled “Colonel Aboagye Criticizes Mahama's National Security Appointments as Unconstitutional.”

This article is a fabrication and a deliberate attempt to misconstrue my ideas and views on recent discussions I have had in the media.

I have never made any such statements, and I urge the public to disregard all attributions made in the article.

To the contrary, I argued that the non-transparent manner in which “operatives” were recruited, trained, and employed with arms was against the provisions of the Constitution. Therefore, I expect the new administration to “clean up” the system, restore it to its constitutionally mandated status and quickly fill any gaps created by the departure of the former operations so it can stand ready to fulfil the task of resolving the Bawku conflict as directed by the President.

I remain committed to providing accurate and constructive commentary on national security matters and will continue to do so with integrity and respect for the truth.

—citinewsroom