Frank Asiedu Bekoe, the Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Employment, Labour Relations, and Pensions Committee, has dismissed President John Dramani Mahama’s directive to expand security service recruitment as a “scam” and “settings”.
The legislator argued that the directive is a calculated attempt to hoodwink Ghanaians and urged the public to ignore it.
On Monday, March 16, 2026, President Mahama ordered a massive expansion of recruitment across the nation’s security agencies. The directive aims to double the intake target from 20,000 to 40,000 personnel over a four-year period.
The President issued this order during a high-level meeting with security heads, Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, and acting defence minister Cassiel Ato Forson.
The meeting was intended to review the current recruitment process, which has faced heavy criticism following reports of applicants being defrauded.
Speaking on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, Mr Bekoe stated categorically that the directive is deceptive. He pointed out that no budgetary provisions have been made to support such an expansion, noting that none of the budgets presented by the government thus far account for the additional numbers.
He challenged the president to provide clarity, asserting that any spending beyond what was approved in the 2026 budget requires fresh parliamentary approval. He further alleged that the current exercise is being used as a front to extort money from desperate job seekers.
Regarding the president’s announcement, Mr Bekoe told host Kwabena Agyapong: “The security services recruitment is a scam, and I don’t want to talk about it. The directive from the president for numbers to be expanded is a scam or ‘settings’. President Mahama is trying to be a ‘presidential con man’, deceiving Ghanaians. What he has done is purely ‘settings’.
Whatever spending the government has to do must get parliamentary approval. The 2025 and 2026 budgets had no provision for the expansion. He does not respect Ghanaians, and so he is just making statements, thinking that we lack any understanding. But some of us understand what he is doing, and so we will not allow him to do that.”
He concluded by noting that the ongoing recruitment exercises have been poorly organised and lack transparency.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
