The Sissala West Constituency Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Zini Rauf, has accused the Upper West Regional minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, of being the cause of the security lapses that have occurred in the constituency, including the cutlass attack on the constituency NASARA Coordinator, Mr. Iddrisu Walaka Kinshasha.
Mr Kinshasha is currently on admission at the Wa Regional Hospital after he was attacked at Fatwo in the Sissala constituency.
Addressing a news conference at Gwullu, the constituency capital yesterday, Mr. Zini Rauf said on April 12, 2022 Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih deployed 150 armed security men with logistics, such as two armoured vehicles, a bus, NIB pickups and others, just to conduct NPP internal elections in 28 polling stations.
“It is as if Sisala West has turned into a Ukraine war zone, where the regional minister used heavily built security men to instal polling station executives, without recourse to the party guidelines. These security men are only interested in the choice of the regional minister and regional chairman”, he alleged.
Zini Rauf further told the media that on April 19, 2022 the regional minister allegedly proclaimed at regional executive meeting that “he has over 600 security personnel under his control and he can deploy them to any constituency of his choice and interest.
“This is a prime example of how Bin Salli is abusing his powers as the regional minister of Upper West region.”
Zini Rauf did not provide any evidence for the journalists to support the above quote he attributed to the minister, but he insisted that Hafiz Bin Salih is so power drunk that he veered off from his ministerial duties and asked the new party committee to re-conduct elections in four polling stations namely; Ponoma Primary One A and One B, Ponoma JHS and Koponoma, that had already been conducted.
According to the Sissala West Constituency Secretary, the constituency executives resisted the above move but Dr. Hafiz ignored them.
To him, it was through all these machinations, which the NASARA Coordinator was resisting that resulted in the cutlass attack on him.
When The Chronicle contacted the Upper West Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih about the allegations of abuse of power and masterminding the attack on the Constituency NASRA Coordinator, he said though he is the chairman of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) he does not take unilateral security decision.
He explained that the decision to deploy the security men to the constituency was taken by the REGSEC and not by him, as it is being portrayed.
On the attack on Kinshahsa, the NASARA Coordinator, Dr Bin Salih, told this paper that he has no hand in it and that the rule of law will take its course, regarding the suspects who have been arrested in connection with the crime.
Meanwhile, the Upper West Regional Police Command has arrested two suspects in connection with the attack on the Constituency NASRA Coordinator, Walaka Kinshsha.
The family of the latter has appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to come to their aide, alleging that the hands of the Regional Police Commander, DCO Peter Ndekugri, are tied because the regional minister has an interest in the case.
