…After years of bias in appointments, abductions, Ayawaso West Wuogon violence….
Accusations of political bias and institutional mismanagement, have emerged within Ghana’s National Security setup, with concerns that career officers sidelined in favour of political appointees during the Akufo-Addo administration, remain marginalised.
Senior officials and analysts, warn that the politicisation of the country’s security apparatus could threaten national stability if not addressed promptly by President John Dramani Mahama and his new appointees at the National Security Secretariat, including Prosper Douglas Kwaku Bani, the National Security Advisor, and DCOP Abdul-Osman Razak, the National Security Coordinator.
Sources within the National Security architecture, allege that a pattern of politically motivated removals and appointments began in 2017 under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, when career officers perceived to be aligned with the previous Mills-Mahama government, were reassigned to institutions outside the security establishment.
“When the NPP government assumed power in 2017, senior career officers identified as loyalists of the then Mills/Mahama regime were removed from their positions and reassigned to institutions outside the national security framework as a form of political punishment. These institutions, include the National Intelligence Bureau, NADMO, EOCO, and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.”
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A senior officer who spoke to The Herald remarked, “Professional staff were completely forced out, and inexperienced junior officers, many of whom hail from Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko’s Danquah Institute, were brought in to fill their positions. However, these recruits were junior, inexperienced, and untrained. Some were even appointed as heads of departments, which contravenes public service regulations, as well as the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2020 (Act 1030).”
The officer cited incidents such as the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election violence and abductions as examples of the negative consequences of this shift, arguing that “the absence of experienced professionals resulted in serious lapses in security operations.”
“These deliberate actions undertaken by the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah, and subsequently Edward Kwaku Asomani, the National Security Coordinator, fostered a political divide within the National Security, a division that had not existed prior to 2017. Professional staff were entirely removed and sidelined in favour of inexperienced junior officers who assumed their roles. This led to numerous unfortunate incidents under the previous administration at the National Security, including the brutalities during the Ayawaso West Wuogon bye-elections.”
Despite expectations that the newly elected National Democratic Congress (NDC) government would reverse these changes, insiders claim the current administration, has doubled down on a similar strategy, replacing existing personnel with their own loyalists.
“Most senior officers wanted to react, but decided not to owing to the fact that the 2024 elections were going to change the regime and that they would bid their time and await the outcome of the elections. However, it is extremely disappointing to note that since the NDC came into power on 7 Jan 2025, the current administration continues to do the same and perhaps even worse to these same senior officers who have been punished and thrown out of their duties by the NPP”.
“It is disappointing that since the NDC assumed office on 7 January 2025, career officers who were previously removed by the NPP, have not been reinstated,” said another senior security official to The Herald.
He further argued that, instead of reinstating these officers, “the entire institution has been militarised, with retired military and police officers occupying positions meant for career civilian staff.”
“First, the entire national security institution has been militarised, with retired military personnel and police officers now occupying positions intended for career civilian officers at the national security headquarters—a situation unprecedented in the institution’s history. Not even when Lt Col Rt Larry Gbevlo-Lartey, a retired military officer, served as the Coordinator under the Mills regime, nor Mr Yaw Donkor ,during the first Mahama administration.”
They questioned, “Is it not rather mind-boggling that it has been over a month since the NDC took over the reins of power, yet neither the National Security Adviser nor the Coordinator, who is a senior career police officer, has managed to meet with the senior staff of the National Security, let alone the entire staff, to introduce themselves and to gather feedback?”
“Rather, their focus has been on hurriedly recruiting their loyalists, some of whom are even retired ex-servicemen, to fill up positions of career officers who they have refused to bring back to the headquarters to do their job. An example is ACP ( Rtd) Agordzor, who was appointed as HR Director, a position that has never been filled by a non-career staff since 1996. These ‘strangers’ have no working relations with any staff member of the institution, except the NPP recruits they have come to meet are so much comfortable working with them on sensitive national security matters”, one officer lamented.
Another senior National Security officer, questioned this decision, asking, “How can ‘outsiders’ with no working relationships with the core staff be entrusted with sensitive national security matters?”
Another key point of contention is the new National Security leadership’s apparent reluctance to engage directly with existing staff.
Instead, sources suggest that their focus, has been on recruiting new personnel, many of whom are retired ex-servicemen, while those who were dismissed in 2017, remain sidelined and entirely forgotten.
These developments, have reportedly created growing anger and frustration among career officers, raising concerns about a possible staff revolt.
“If this situation is not addressed urgently, we may see the unprecedented leakage of critical state documents to political opponents, as some disgruntled staff may work against the President’s RESET agenda,” a security analyst cautioned.
Another officer warned, “There is a risk of internal sabotage, if we continue to have a divided and disgruntled workforce handling the nation’s most sensitive security matters.”
Attention has also turned to the role of Chief Director, Sena Siaw-Boateng, an ambassador from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose continued presence at National Security, has raised eyebrows.
One source questioned, “Why are the National Security Coordinator and the Adviser working with the very people who were planted by Kan Dapaah and Edward Asomani from the Danquah Institute? What is their agenda?”
With tensions mounting, stakeholders are calling on President Mahama to intervene to prevent a potential security crisis.
Interestingly, staff, who have been sent out since 2017 as punishment for their perceived working relationship with the NDC still have not been recalled to the office.
The most shocking aspect of this entire issue is that junior staff ,who were recruited have been sponsored to undertake their Master’s degrees and other international programmes, despite being unqualified, while the qualified senior staff, have been deliberately locked out under the Kan Dapaah regime.
They even went as far as to change the law in 2020, in an attempt to legitimise their illegal actions in this regard.
“These developments at the National Security have created anger and agitation among senior staff, and if immediate attention is not paid to these matters by the President, there may be a staff revolt for the first time in the history of the National Security. Worse still, there is a danger that critical state documents may begin to leak to political opponents from disloyal staff who are working against the President’s RESET agenda, due to their continued presence in their respective positions.”
“We need immediate corrective action. The President must ensure fairness in appointments and reinstate competent career officers who have been unfairly sidelined,” urged a senior intelligence officer.
With the political transition, the management of national security personnel, remains a crucial issue that could have significant implications for governance and stability.
