The Ghana Police Service has organised an intercessory prayer service for peace in the country and prayed for protection of police personnel as Ghana goes to the polls.
The service, which was interspersed with tunes played by the Ghana Police Band, was held at the National Police Headquarters.
Junior and senior ranked police personnel joined the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr John Kudalor, members of the police management board, regional commanders and representatives of other security agencies to pray and thank God for the prevailing peace in the country.
In an address, the Director of the Religious Affairs Directorate, Very Rev. Father Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) George Arthur, said the national election task force was ready physically but needed divine protection.
Politicians
A spokesperson for the National Chief Imam (guest speaker at the service), Sheikh Armiyaw Shaibu, called on politicians to match their cry for peace with their words and actions in order not to undermine the peace that the nation desired.
“Politicians must be mindful of what they say. We are asking for peace as we go to the polls but we have instances where we have political actors making statements which can undermine the peace of our country,” he said.
Sheikh Shaibu, who is also the head of the Islamic Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service and the Chairman of the Zakat and Sadaqa Fund of Ghana, said: “With less than two weeks to go to the polls the political climate is charged with tension.”
Political actors, he said, were worsening the situation with their actions, “citizens are in a state of uncertainty and anxiety.”
Electoral Commission
To ensure peace at the end of the electoral process, Sheikh Shaibu urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to be resolute and professional in carrying out its mandate.
He urged the police to work hard to guarantee peace in the country “so that at the end of the day when the election results are announced no one will have a reason to doubt or protest them.”
Additionally, he advised the youth not to allow themselves to be used as agents of violence by politicians for their personal interest.
“No single drop of blood must be attributed to your actions,” he said and added that “when you are even provoked respond in peace and with love.”
Police are ready
Touching on the preparedness of the Ghana Police Service for the December 7 general election, the Director General of Operations, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Christian Tettey Yohuno, said the Police Administration was ready to carry out its duty.
He said 2,000 police personnel and other personnel of other security agencies would be deployed from the Greater Accra Region on December 6, 2016 to other regions to beef up security.
“The selected personnel will assemble at the Independence Square in Accra where they will be briefed, before they are deployed,” he said.
The IGP, Mr Yohuno said, had already accessed the preparedness of the police in all the regions.
For his part, the IGP, Mr Kudalor, urged the public to have confidence in the security service to deliver a safe and secure election.
He entreated the citizenry to be responsible and circumspect in their actions to ensure that Ghana comes out of the election in peace.
