Twenty-three New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs of the seventh Parliament who lost their seats in the 7 December 2020 parliamentary elections will not serve as ministers or deputy ministers in the next Akufo-Addo government, sources close to the Presidency have disclosed to Asaase News.
In all, 22 individuals who were members of the seventh parliament and served in various ministerial and deputy ministerial portfolios will no longer hold those positions, or any other ministerial jobs, in the second-term government of President Akufo-Addo.
The 23rd individual who will also no longer hold a ministerial position is Tangoba Abayage, the former Upper East regional minister. She stood for election in Navrongo Central, a seat held by the NPP in the run-up to the election, but lost it to the National Democratic Congress contender by a surprisingly large margin.
In the Ashanti Region, in New Edubiase, George Oduro, who served as a deputy minister of agriculture, will no longer have the chance to serve as a minister.
The other former MPs affected include Siaka Stephens, the deputy Bono regional minister and former MP for Jaman North, Yaw Afful, the deputy aviation minister and former MP for Jaman South, and Professor George Gyan Baffour, the erstwhile minister for planning and Wenchi MP. These three are the individuals from the Bono Region affected.
From the Bono East Region, the former MP for Nkoranza North Derrick Oduro, who served as deputy defence minister, and Kofi Amoakohene of Atebubu Amanten, who also served as the Bono East regional minister, will both be out of the next Akufo-Addo government.
From the Central Region, four will not be joining the new government. They are the former Awutu Senya MP and deputy communications minister George Andah; the Cape Coast North former MP and deputy minister of works and housing Barbara Asher Ayisi; the former Ekumfi MP and deputy fisheries minister Francis Kingley Cudjoe; and the former Gomoa West MP and deputy communications minister Alexander Abban.
The Eastern Region’s outgoing MP for Upper Manya Krobo, Joseph Tetteh, who was the deputy Eastern regional minister, will not appear in the list of new ministers.
In Greater Accra, the four MPs who lost their seats and can, therefore, not expect to be reappointed are Boniface Abubakar Saddique, minister of state (formerly representing the Madina); Titus Glover (formerly representing Tema East), deputy transport minister; the former MP for Ledzokuku Bernard Okoe Boye (the immediate past deputy minister of health); and the former MP for Krowor Elizabeth Afoley Quaye (ex-minister of fisheries and aquaculture).
Others affected are the former MP for Nalerigu/Gambaga in the North East Region Hajia Alima Mahama, who was the minister of local government and rural development; the former MP for Krachi East in the Oti Region Michael Gyato, who was the deputy minister of water resources and sanitation; from Tempane in the Upper East, Joseph Dindiok Kpemka, who was a deputy attorney general; the former MP for Zebilla (Upper East) Adongo Frank Fuseini, who was the deputy Upper East regional minister; the former MP for Navrongo Central (Upper East Region) and aviation minister, Joseph Kofi Adda, who lost the seat in the NPP primaries; Tangoba Abayage, the failed parliamentary candidate for the same seat, who served as Upper East regional minister in the first Akufo-Addo government; the former MP for Lawra (Upper West) Anthony Karbo, who was the deputy roads minister; the former MP for Jomoro (Western Region) Paul Essien, who served as the deputy minister for chieftaincy affairs; and the former MP for Prestea Huni Valley (Western Region) Barbara Oteng Gyasi, who was the minister of tourism, arts and culture.
The first-term Akufo-Addo government overall had 36 substantive ministers and seven ministers of state. There were also 48 deputy ministers and 16 regional ministers, as well as 16 deputy regional ministers. This brought the total number of ministers and deputy ministers to 123.
The number is expected to go down by at least 30% as the president seeks to trim his government machinery. It is expected the number of deputy ministers will fall considerably, and that some ministries will be scrapped or merged.
Wilberforce Asare / Asaase Radio
Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#asaaseradio #TVOL
