Bolgatanga Central MP, Isaac Adongo
The Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo, has opened up about why he was not included in President Mahama’s recent list of deputy ministerial nominees.
There is unease among the youth of Bolgatanga Central in the Upper East Region after their MP was not appointed as a minister of state. They have vehemently and publicly rejected his appointment to the Board of the Bank of Ghana.
President John Mahama’s failure to appoint Isaac Adongo to a ministerial position has surprised some political analysts, given the prominent role the outspoken legislator played in the run-up to the December 2024 elections.
Isaac Adongo, a financial consultant, became a thorn in the side of the then-governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the election campaign, frequently criticizing the government’s economic policies.
As one of the leading voices of the NDC on economic issues, he often granted media interviews lambasting the Akufo-Addo government for its alleged mismanagement of the economy. On February 28, 2024, he delivered a public lecture themed “Ghana’s Economic Mess: Victim of Poor Economic Governance?” at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), where he exposed what he described as the Akufo-Addo administration’s abysmal handling of the economy.
Given his contributions to the party while in opposition, some political analysts expected Isaac Adongo, who was the Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, to be appointed at least as a deputy minister of finance, considering his background.
However, on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, President John Mahama announced Isaac Adongo as one of the 12 members to sit on the Bank of Ghana’s board.
Speaking about the development in an interview with Asempa FM, as monitored by GhanaWeb, Isaac Adongo, a Chartered Accountant, explained that President John Mahama’s advisors believed his competence was beyond that of a deputy ministerial role.
“When it comes to the deputy minister position, part of the reason is that there were people advising the President who believed that I am above a deputy ministerial role. That is not coming from me, and under no circumstances did I reject the position.
“If it had been offered to me, and that was the capacity in which the President wanted me to serve, I wouldn’t have said no. Of course, if the President calls upon you to serve in any capacity, it is a privilege that I would gladly accept. However, under the circumstances, he must have felt that he wanted to use me in another way.
“Maybe there is a timing gap, and people expect that by now my name would have been included somewhere, but that has not happened. However, that does not mean this is the end of the story.”
KA
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