Government has defended its refusal to appoint a substantive Defence Minister following the demise of the previous occupant of the office, Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah.
According to Government, even though there is no substantive minister, the sector is currently functioning effectively, the reason there hasn’t been any rush to appoint another person to fill the vacancy.
Minister in Charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, speaking on Joy News on Monday, May 18, 2026, indicated that although President Mahama had said he was going to find a replacement after Christmas, the Ministry is functioning properly without one.
“Any day that the President communicates to me that he has appointed a Defence Minister, I’ll make it known to you,” he noted, explaining that the lack of a substantive minister has not negatively impacted the country’s security architecture.
“But I think that by and large, we have held the fort, and the Government has functioned effectively. There’s not been any lapses, as far as I know, in terms of Ghana’s defence architecture,” he stated.
He asserted that things are rather improving at the Ministry, warranting no need to find a substantive Minister.
“Indeed, things appear to be improving on that front because they are acquiring additional firepower in terms of their equipment and retooling, and all that is going quite well,” he said.
He opined that the oversight responsibility by the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, who “bankrolls” the Ministry might be shaping the operations of the Ministry, insisting any mishaps is not due to the lack of a substantive Minister.
“Perhaps it helps that the man who has to bankroll it is also the one who is in the acting capacity at the Defence Ministry. So everything is on track. If there is any lapse, that’s not because there is not a standalone Defence Minister at any time.”
The Abura Asebu Kwamankese lawmaker maintained that the decision to appoint or not solely lies with the President, assuring the host that once a decision is made and communicated to him, he will also relay it to the public.
“As I’ve indicated, it is the President’s prerogative to appoint ministers, and once he deems it necessary to do so at any moment, he will communicate it to me, and I will communicate it to you,” he said.
He lauded the Dr. Ato Forson-led oversight responsibility at the ministry, saying things have remained stable since.
“I want to stress that the Defence Ministry continues to be in safe hands and it continues to be in experienced hands, and it is running smoothly,” he noted.
He said recent efforts to acquire equipment and improve operational readiness show that the ministry is functioning properly.
“Their fortunes have even begun to improve over the last few months, because they are acquiring equipment that is necessary to keep them up to speed in terms of the operational readiness and the ability to defend our territorial integrity,” he said.
“So all is well on that front, and as of when the President deems it necessary to do so, he would do so.”
The former Defence Minister, Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, was part of the eight persons who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, near Adansi Akrofuom in the Ashanti region while on their way to an anti-galamsey policy launch at Obuasi.
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