Claims that the government is illegally hiring New Patriotic Party (NPP) members into the security services have been categorically denied by Interior Minister Henry Quartey.

Ahead of the general elections in 2024, the government is allegedly illegally enlisting NPP members into the security services, according to the minority in Parliament.

According to the caucus, each NPP parliamentary candidate has been given 30 slots for enlistment into different security services; they believe this is a deliberate attempt to sway the results of the polls in December.

These worries were voiced by Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson at a press conference, where he also issued a warning that National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters would fiercely oppose any unapproved actions by these recruits—who are known as NPP members in uniform.

Monday on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News, Mr. Quartey spoke with Umaru Sanda Amadu and called the minority’s claim regrettable. He also emphasized that the government is not engaged in any of these kinds of activities.

The Interior Minister went on to say that recruitment has not started yet and won’t be done in secret when it does.

There hasn’t been an advertisement, he explained; the government wants to get rid of the backlog of recruits from prior years. He did, however, add that the agencies will shortly make the recruits’ eligibility requirements public.

“It is rather unfortunate that MPs and of course a leader, Minority Leader and a former deputy minister of Interior could actually spew this falsehood into the public. MPs currently are about 137…it cannot be possible, it is not and it cannot be possible. I am rather disappointed in this approach…Yes, we are recruiting but it is not a secret recruitment. We haven’t even started. The agencies are going to send the eligibility criteria. I am sure by this week they will do that.”

“What we are saying rather is that look in the last couple of years people have gone to buy forms. And for some reasons, they could not gain admission into the security and intelligence agencies. So we thought it wise that we don’t have to advertise anymore for people to continuously pay monies because you have a certain number of people that per the clearance you have to recruit.

“But I want to say on authority and I want to say again on authority that giving 30 slots to MPs is false. It is not true. It has never happened before and I am surprised that they want to go on this tangent,” he stated.