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Ministerial appointments: Adutwum heads Education, Amewu for Railways

President Nana Akufo-Addo will soon release his new list of government ministers. It is likely to see Dr Yaw Adutwum leading the Education Ministry

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to announce his ministerial team for his new government in the coming days.

Asaaseradio.com has picked signals of intense lobbying behind the scenes for the ministerial portfolios both at the sector and regional levels.

Over the past couple of days, speculation has been rife over who has made it on to the president’s list to be vetted as a ministerial nominee. This list contains names of former ministers who served in President Akufo-Addo’s first term spanning January 2017 through to January 2021.

Sources at the Office of the President reveal that Ghanaians can expect fresh faces in Akufo-Addo’s new government.

For example, even though yet to be confirmed, reports have it that the immediate past education minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who is the MP for Manhyia South, will take over from the newly elected MP for Hohoe in the Volta Region, John Peter Amewu, as Energy Minister. At the same time, Amewu will move to the Ministry of Railways Development as the substantive minister.

Matthew Opoku-Prempeh
Matthew Opoku Prempeh

The former deputy education minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum could be elevated to become the substantive minister.

The MP for Okere (Eastern Region), Dan Botwe, moves from the Ministry of Regional Reorganisation and Development to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, while Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto and Kwaku Ofori Asiamah will retain their portfolios as the Ministers of Agriculture and Transport, respectively.

Some NPP supporters are also rooting for Deputy Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame to be made the substantive minister in the Office of the Attorney General.

New entrants

The new entrants and former deputy chiefs of staff Samuel Abu Jinapor, newly elected as the MP for Damongo, and Francis Asenso-Boakye, the new MP for Bantama, have been tipped for the Lands and Natural Resources and Works and Housing portfolios, respectively.

The National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah, Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul, Interior Minister Ambrose Dery and Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah have all been tipped to retain their jobs.

Also expected to retain their positions are the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and the Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful.

Wide acclaim

One person who seems to enjoy wide acclaim is the immediate past Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare. Many leading figures in the New Patriotic Party are urging President Akufo-Addo to retain her, citing her meticulous performance during his first term.

Frema Osei-Opare
Frema Osei-Opare, Chief of Staff

The names of the former NPP general secretary Kwabena Agyei Agyapong and the long-time NPP national chairmanship aspirant Stephen Ntim are also spoken of widely as potential ministerial appointees.

According to official sources, MP-ministers who lost their seats risk losing their portfolios. Regional ministers who performed abysmally are also on their way out, the sources say.

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