Ashanti region ballot papers are safe and protected 24/7 – Richard Jakpa
21st November 2024
Richard Jakpa is a senior member of John Mahama's election 2024 campaign security team
Richard Jakpa, a senior member of former President John Dramani Mahama’s election 2024 campaign security team has assured members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the Presidential and parliamentary ballot papers have been safely shepherded under the NDC’s watchful eyes to the Ashanti Region.
Mr. Jakpa emphasized that he personally oversaw their distribution from the capital Accra and ensured no package was tampered with nor papers misplaced.
“I escorted the distribution of Presidential and Parliamentary ballot papers from Accra to the Ashanti Region”.
Speaking in an interview with Kojo Marfo on AbusuaNkommo at ABUSUA965FM, he explained that upon arrival in Kumasi, they were informed that the papers would be stored at the police workshop, but he insisted that they be relocated to a more secure area.
“When we first arrived in Kumasi, the police provided us with their workshop room to store the papers, which was different from our usual storage location for ballot papers. Upon inspecting the workshop, I noticed several vulnerabilities, so I insisted that the papers should be placed where the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary ballot papers were stored”.
Mr. Jakpa indicated that despite initial concerns about storage space, he demanded proper storage and elicited the help of NDC members to clear the most suited place to receive the ballot packages.
“The police claimed that space was full due to the presence of police mattresses and beds, but I instructed them to clear the area to ensure the ballot papers’ were in safe storage. They expressed concerns about lacking personnel to offload the items, but I assured them that I had NDC members on standby to assist”
“In fact, about 80% of the people who came to the police depot were NDC members, and they successfully offloaded the goods and cleaned the area”.
He confirmed that all ballot papers are accounted for and securely locked with seals and padlocks.
“We’ve locked them with our seals and padlocks, recorded the quantities, audited everything, and everything is in order”, he stressed.