Samuel Atta Akyea, the Chairman of the committee probing the leaked tape capturing an alleged plot to oust the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, has stated that the committee is yet to finalize its report. He called on the public to disregard rumours suggesting that the report has been submitted to the presidency.
He explained on Eyewitness News on Citi FM that other parliamentary engagements and the committee’s commitment to ensuring fairness are to blame for the delay in finalizing the report. Once these hurdles are overcome, the report will eventually be laid before the plenary.
“A lot of things have happened, and we don’t want to come and give excuses for why we are late in bringing the report. It is just about to be concluded, and then the committee will converge to look at it and ensure an understanding that nobody has been shortchanged before putting it before plenary. I do not know how anybody will say that the report is with the president—a report that the committee has not even reviewed.” He added that the delay is not a result of alleged national security breaches committed during the probe.
“There are no national security considerations at all because, at the end of the day, we had an in-camera hearing. We were able to distinguish what was important and what was not. The only thing I will say is that there have been a lot of intervening matters, including the budget. It is not easy to get all the members of the committee to converge on a matter of such significance because no chairman will want to bring a report that will be tagged a one-man report.”
A leaked tape surfaced in July 2023 containing alleged plans by the government to remove the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, from office in an attempt to manipulate the upcoming December general elections. A seven-member committee chaired by Samuel Atta Akyea was subsequently set up to probe the contents of the tape.
By: Kabah Atawoge
