The Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, is seeking explanations for the decision to appoint a Parliamentary Candidate in the 2024 election as the Managing Director for a struggling state financial institution such as the National Investment Bank (NIB).

Mr Tweneboa Kodua Fokuo, the newly appointed MD of NIB, is the governing New Patriotic Party’s Parliamentary Candidate for the Manso Nkwanta Constituency in the Ashanti Region after he beat four contenders in the primary to represent the party.

His appointment takes effect from Monday, May 13, 2024, and he takes over from Mr Samuel Sarpong, the outgoing MD.

Before he was appointed the MD, he served as the Deputy MD of the bank.

The bank in a memo announcing his new appointment, explained that Mr Fokuo was appointed by “the majority shareholder."

“Rest assured, the restructuring and transformation efforts we’ve initiated will persist under Mr. Fokuo’s capable leadership. With the invaluable guidance of the Board and Mr. Fokuo’s vision, working closely with Management, we anticipate a seamless transition and ongoing progress,” the memo read.

However, the IMANI Africa Vice President does not consider this a smart move for a corporate entity because he believes the responsibility of running for a political office will distract his leadership of such a crucial national asset.

In a post on the social media platform X on Saturday, May 11, Mr Simons said, “You have a state-owned bank that has been struggling for years. It does not have enough capital & could have been shut down if it was private. Instead of bringing a turnaround specialist to fix it, the Ghana govt promotes an MP aspirant who will be campaigning in 2024 as the new CEO!”.

I am very curious to know what the @thebankofghana thought when they were informed & asked to approve a request that a VERY BUSY parliamentary aspirant for the ruling party should be the CEO of a struggling state-owned bank.

— Bright Simons (@BBSimons) May 11, 2024

He also questioned why the Bank of Ghana ill approve Mr Fokuo knowing the state of the NIB bank and the kind of leadership required to revitalize it.

“I am very curious to know what the @thebankofghana thought when they were informed & asked to approve a request that a VERY BUSY parliamentary aspirant for the ruling party should be the CEO of a struggling state-owned bank.”

About Tweneboa Kodua Fokuo

According to the bank, Mr Fokuo is a highly experienced banker with a strong grasp of Risk Management, covering a broad spectrum of Commercial, Corporate and Investment Banking as well as Country Risk Management.

It said he has had a rich banking career having worked with Barclays Bank, Ghana since 2008. At Barclays, he played various roles in the Risk Management fraternity and rose steadily to the position of Assistant Vice President.

He also served as the Country Risk Champion for Barclays Ghana, reporting to the Group’s Country Risk Teams in London and Johannesburg. He left Barclays Bank, Ghana in January 2016, and joined First National Bank Ghana Ltd; a subsidiary of FirstRand Bank of South Africa as Head of Credit Risk.

Mr Tweneboa Kodua Fokuo holds a BSc. Degree in Natural Resources Management from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST); an MBA in Finance from the University of Wales, UK; and an Advanced Commercial Credit Risk Certificate from the IFS School of Finance, UK.