Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson has called on Interior Minister Henry Quartey to publicly release the names of opposition MPs accused of engaging in protocol recruitment for security services.

During a May 21, 2024, interview on Neat FM, Quartey threatened to reveal the names of National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs allegedly involved in such practices.

This came after Forson claimed that each New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP had been given 30 slots for security service recruitments.

In a statement dated May 21, 2024, and posted on his social media handles, Forson described the minister’s position as “alarming and baseless.”

“His insinuation that members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have participated in improper recruitment practices without providing any evidence is a clear attempt to divert attention from the substantive issues at hand,” the statement read in part.

It added that Quartey’s views were “a hollow threat intended to intimidate and silence legitimate criticism from the Minority Caucus,” but that the Minority won’t be cowed.

“I challenge the Interior Minister to name the individuals he claims were brought forward by NDC MPs for recruitment. Let us move away from rhetoric and towards accountability.

“If the Minister cannot provide these names, then his statements must be seen for what they are: an attempt to distract from the substantive concerns we have raised,” Ato Forson stressed.

He added that the Minority will move for a probe into recruitment since President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo came into office in 2017.

Statement: Ato Forson replies Henry Quartey:

I find the recent statements by the Interior Minister, Henry Quartey, both alarming and baseless. His insinuation that members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have participated in improper recruitment practices without providing any evidence is a clear attempt to divert attention from the substantive issues at hand.

The Minister’s remarks, made during an interview with Neat FM on May 21, 2024, and reproduced in the article below, come off as a hollow threat intended to intimidate and silence legitimate criticism from the Minority Caucus.

Our concern has been and remains the transparency and fairness in the recruitment process into our country’s security services. Specifically, we highlighted credible information suggesting that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) is manipulating recruitment processes to favor its parliamentary candidates with 30 slots each. This allegation is serious and deserves a substantive response, not deflection.

I challenge the Interior Minister to name the individuals he claims were brought forward by NDC MPs for recruitment. Let us move away from rhetoric and towards accountability. If the Minister cannot provide these names, then his statements must be seen for what they are: an attempt to distract from the substantive concerns we have raised.

Mr. Minister, I can assure you that we will bring a motion to Parliament to demand an enquiry into the recruitment into security services since 2017.

The integrity of our security services and the trust of the Ghanaian people in our institutions depend on our collective commitment to transparency and justice.