President John Dramani Mahama in one big swoop, has unceremoniously cut shot the career of 18 top military officers, including the Chief of the Defence Staff and all Service Chiefs in the Ghana Armed Forces.
This decision has sent shockwaves across the country, with many questioning the timing and reasoning behind the move.
There are strong indications that more generals from the Brigadier General rank are likely to be given the matching order.
The sacked generals had between 4 to 10 years of service left before their premature retirement by just a stroke of a presidential pen.
The affected generals from the rank of Major General to 4-star General were replaced with lower-ranked Brigadier Generals, equivalent to 1-star General at the command of the Ghana Armed Forces.
The list of the sacked generals includes some of the most senior and experienced officers in the Ghana Armed Forces.
They are:
*General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, Chief of the Defence Staff
*Air Marshal Asare Fredrick Kwasi Bekoe, Chief of Air Staff
– Vice Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu, Chief of Naval Staff
– Lt General Bismark Kwasi Onwona, Chief of Army Staff
– Major Emmanuel Wekem Kotia, Boundary Commission Chairman
– Major General Abraham Yeboah Nsiah, Defence Intelligence Chief
– Major General Irvine Nii-Ayitey Aryeetey
– Major General Joseph Prince Osei-Owusu
– Major General Richard Addo Gyane
– Major General Robert Yaw Affram
– Major General Ayisi Michael Amoah
– Rear Admiral Eric Adu
– Major General Joseph Aduko Aphour,
– Rear Admiral Samuel Agyenim-Boateng
– Major General Matthew Essien
*Major General Daniel Yaw Aduboafo Nyarko
– Major General Raymond Kwablah Ewusi,
– Air Vice Marshal Felix Adom Asante
President Mahama has replaced them with new Acting Service Chiefs, pending consultation with the Council of State.
The new appointees include Acting Chief of The Defence Staff – Brig. Gen. William Agyapong, Acting Chief of Army Staff – Brig. Gen. Lawrence Kwaku Gbetanu, Acting Chief of Naval Staff – Cdre. Godwin Livinus Bessing, Acting Chief of Air Staff – Air Cdre. Eric Agyen-Frempong, and Acting Chief of Staff – Brig. Gen. Glover Ashong Annan.
The new service chiefs will be promoted to their next ranks upon their confirmation.
Public Reactions
This move has been met with criticism from some quarters, with the Member of Parliament for Assin South, Rev John Ntim Fordjour, describing it as “egoistic premature”.
According to Rev Fordjour, the sacked generals had six more years to serve in the military before their retirement.
In reaction, he said “What this implies on the public purse is that gratuities will have to be paid running into millions of cedis due to the egoistic premature dismissals of senior ranked generals, replacing them with lower ranked Brigadier Generals and equivalent (1-star Generals) at the command of Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.
Rev Fordjour also expressed concerns about the impact of this move on the military’s hierarchy.
“Just when Ghana expanded its military might, upgrading key corps such as armour, artillery, signals, and 48 Engineers to Brigade status, thereby attaining 4-star General status for the Chief of Defence Staff, John Mahama has reset the top hierarchy back to 1-star General as Chief of Defence Staff. This reset is indeed backward, costly, and farfetched,” he added.
Defence Minister
The Defence Minister, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, confirmed that President Mahama met with the outgoing Service Chiefs, thanking them for their dedicated service to the nation.
“Mr. Mahama assured them of his willingness to rely on their varied experiences and depth of knowledge to reset Ghana,” Dr Boamah stated.
–BY Daniel Bampoe
