The Ghana Armed Forces have refuted allegations made by North Tongu lawmaker Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa that soldiers sent to the Volta region to provide humanitarian aid following the Akosombo dam spill are leaving.
The claim made by the Member of Parliament is false, according to GAF, which also noted that the soldiers have not received any orders to leave the Volta region.
“The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) wishes to debunk some media reports and a series of social media posts, especially on Twitter (X), claiming that military personnel deployed to Mepe in Volta Region for Humanitarian Relief Operations following the spillage of the Akosombo Dam, have been withdrawn.
“GAF wishes to categorically state that the information in circulation is inaccurate and that the personnel have not been given any ‘orders from above’ to withdraw from Mepe or any other community affected by the spillage, contrary to the social media posts,” GAF said in a statement.
The statement added: “It must be emphasized that the Humanitarian Relief Operations (Operation Boafo), being conducted by the Ghana Navy’s Riverine Command and the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Army, is being executed in phases. As of 22 October 2023, the situation in Mepe has been brought under considerable control, and therefore, it became necessary to urgently redeploy some personnel and equipment to other distressed communities around Battor and its environs, which were in dire need of support.
“Following the deployment of additional personnel and equipment to these distressed communities, the operations being conducted have been varied to suit the evolving situation. It must be placed on record that for the purpose of this operation, GAF has established an Emergency Operations Centre, which is coordinating all the GAF activities in a harmonized manner in conjunction with NADMO.”
The Ghana Armed Forces will continue their efforts to assist incident victims, according to the statement.
GAF wants to reassure the public that thousands of people have been saved, as was recently reported in the media, and that significant efforts are being made to assist victims.
