The government plans to redesignate the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) as the Bureau of National Intelligence (BNI), as outlined in the proposed Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025.
Interior Minister Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka explained that this move aims to rectify the confusion stemming from the NIB acronym, which is frequently mistaken for the National Investment Bank.
The bill also proposes abolishing the specific position of Minister for National Security.
If the bill is passed, it will grant the President authority to designate a minister to exercise oversight over the national security coordinator.
During a parliamentary session, the minister stated that the renaming forms part of a broader initiative to optimise the country’s security infrastructure.
“Everywhere in the world, we make sure that the acronym for security agencies does not match anything else. In fact, it is supported by law to ensure that nobody is able to name anything after the acronym of any of the security agencies. One of the significant things we are trying to do is to reintroduce the name BNI. This time, even though the BNI of yesterday was the Bureau of National Investigation, this BNI will still remain the Bureau of National Intelligence,” he said.
But Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has strongly opposed the legislation.
In his view, this could concentrate excessive power within the national security apparatus and potentially undermine citizens’ rights.
“If you give such powers to the coordinator and you do not provide for a clear path of responsibility, accountability and oversight, it becomes problematic to you yourself,” he said.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
