The Minority says they will file a motion when Parliament resumes to request a special parliamentary probe into their allegations that the government is secretly recruiting New Patriotic Party (NPP) footsoldiers into the security agencies.

The Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson on Monday, May 20, claimed that NPP parliamentary candidates have been given 30 slots each to pack the security agencies. 

But his claim has since been dismissed by Interior Minister, Henry Quartey, explaining that the government has not announced recruitment exercises in the last few years because it is clearing a backlog. 

• Read also: NPP parliamentary candidates given slots to recruit into security agencies – Minority alleges

However, speaking to journalists on Wednesday, May 22, Dr Forson insisted the Minister's claims are false. 

According to him, instead of the Interior Minister addressing the concerns raised by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority caucus about the serious implications of the illegal recruitment, he chose to peddle outright falsehoods.

“Honourable Quartey's insinuations that members of the NDC have benefitted from the questionable recruitment practice without providing any shred of evidence is a clear attempt to confuse the issue and divert attention,” he said.

Dr Forson argued that the Interior Minister's announcement that there is going to be a recruitment this year without public advertisement and the sale of forms, because the government was clearing backlogs of previous recruitment, is untenable and outrageous.

He questioned Mr Quartey on how the clearing of the backlogs will ensure that persons who might have exceeded the cut-off age for recruitment or may have developed certain health issues are not recruited into the security services.

"The people of Ghana cannot be deceived in the name of the so-called persons waiting to be recruited into the security service. ...There is no such backlog."

The Minority Leader stressed his side will file a motion demanding a parliamentary probe into recruitment into the security services.

"We can assure the Minister for Interior that the Minority will bring a motion to demand full-scale enquiry into the recruitment into the security service since 2017.

"This inquiry will seek to uncover any instance of corruption, favouritism, nepotism or irregularities in the recruitment process and ensure that going forward, such unacceptable practices are irradiated in the recruitment into our security services," Dr Forson said.

The Minority Leader noted that his outfit remains steadfast and cannot be silent, not even by the Interior Minister’s “veil threats and cheap blackmail.”

“The NDC’s concern has been and still remains a lack of transparency and fairness in the recruitment process into the Ghana Security Services.

“We highlighted credible information suggesting that the ruling NPP is manipulating recruitment processes to favour its parliamentary candidates with about 30 slots allocated to each of them for the various security agencies including the Police Service, the Immigration Service, the Fire Service and the Prison Service. This issue is serious and deserves a substantive response, not a deflection,” he stressed.

Read also: Ato Forson dares Henry Quartey to name NDC MPs who presented names for recruitment into security agencies

Dr Forson, therefore, challenged the Interior Minister to publish the names of persons that he claims were forwarded by the NDC MPs for the secret recruitment.

“If the minister fails to provide these names, then his statement must be seen for what they are - baseless, ridiculous, favourous, provocative and indeed false,” he said.

But the Majority in Parliament has dismissed claims by the NDC that the government is illegally recruiting NPP footsoldiers into the security agencies.

They said that these moves are attempts by the NDC to inflame tensions ahead of the 2024 election.

• Read also: NDC’s claim that NPP is recruiting footsoldiers into security agencies baseless – Majority

Deputy Majority Leader, Patricia Appiagyei warned the NDC against making false claims that could destabilise the country's peace and security.

She said that the claims by the NDC are so baseless that they defy any mathematical logic, as the government cannot afford to recruit nearly 10,000 persons into the security agencies.