Despite demands from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Workers' Union for an apology for the arrest of their manager, Mark Wiafe Asomani, Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei-Mensah has maintained his position.
The minister clarified, defending his actions, that he instructed the police to arrest the ECG's Ashanti East Manager for security reasons. Tending to the matter at a question and answer session in Kumasi, he stressed that his activities were inside the extent of his obligations and negated no regulations.
Is it necessary for me to apologize for my security work? Everything I need to say to you is that I requested that the police welcome Ing Imprint Asomani Wiafe on security grounds as a result of the happenings in the power area in the district and the way that a taskforce can continuously come from outside to disengage without the legitimate data.
The minister was quoted as saying by citinewsroom.com, "What is ironic is that they tell me that they are not under me and for that matter, I cannot tell them what to do but they want to tell me how to execute my security responsibilities as enshrined in the Securities and Intelligence Act of 2020, Act 10(30)." He additionally censured the ECG for ignoring alerts from the security board to guarantee continuous power supply at the homes of the president and VP during their visits to the Ashanti Region.
In addition, the minister denied that some ECG managers are members of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), highlighting the significance of adhering to legal security obligations.
He further featured existing arrangements between the ECG and the Kumasi Specialized College pointed toward settling the college's extraordinary obligations.