ORAL’s Accountability Cannot be Boycotted – Edem Agbana to NPP after NED Boycott

Member of Parliament (MP) for Ketu North, Edem Eric Agbana, has challenged the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) boycott of National Economic Dialogue (NED) 2025, stating that such antics would fail against the oncoming accountability of the Operation Recover All the Loot (ORAL) program.

The National Economic Dialogue 2025, under the theme “Resetting Ghana: Building the Economy We Want Together,” is a promised and delivered forum by President Mahama to facilitate discussions and proffer solutions to Ghana’s economic crisis.

The NPP’s decision to boycott it is a furtherance of the party’s protest against the government’s termination of all public appointments made after the December 7th election. The party insists the revocation is an abuse by the new government.

However, for Agbana, the boycott is baseless and manipulative of the NPP, who want to escape a guaranteed confrontation with the economic mess they created while in power.

“Let me tell you, they have no reason to boycott. They simply do not want to come and be in the uncomfortable position of seeing, viewing, the picture of the economy they left behind presented to them.”

According to him, it’s about shame. He reported countless embarrassing moments in parliament where opposition lawmakers were unable to defend the economy’s health when presented with the statistics and indicators.

“Today, why are they not bold enough to speak to the so-called indicators that they kept talking about prior to the elections?”

He dismissed any other claim for which the NPP boycotted the NED 2025. “It couldn’t possibly be because of the appointments – that’s just an excuse.”

“After all, if the NPP really cared about the people, why didn’t they employ them within the eight years instead of waiting until after December 7 when they lost the elections?”

“You mismanage the economy with even an over-bloated payroll with many ghost names, including the over 80,000 ghost names at the National Service Authority–Then when you were voted out of power and you were exiting, you now engaged in the business of recruiting your foot soldiers to come and again increase the numbers on the payroll and you expect the new government that just comes in to inherit that?”

Despite admitting that not everyone employed after December 7th was a foot soldier of the NPP, he explained why it would be imprudent of the government to keep them in office.

“Regardless of their party affiliation, anyone unscrupulously employed within that time frame used by the NPP to set up the NDC government upon assumption of office–If the government maintained them, it would be burdened with even worse fiscal challenges, and if it dismissed them as is the case now, it would serve as ammunition for a smear campaign against the new government,” he explained.

The Ketu North MP cautioned Ghanaians who were backing the seemingly righteous actions of the NPP to be very careful where they place their hope and endorsement.

“The NPP is full of leaders who don’t have genuine concerns for the masses–So-called leaders” who appeared to be championing the fight against the public sector dismissals could not be trusted. They are “enemies of the people” for masterminding and manipulating this politically engineered situation.

“We are not dismissing people who were employed in 2022. We are not dismissing people employed in June 2024 or in November 2024. We are dismissing people hurriedly brought into the system right after they (NPP) lost the election.

“Where lies the goodwill? What was the intention of the government? That after you’ve lost power, without even knowing what the philosophy of the new incoming government is concerning how they intend to manage their payroll, you employ people.”

The Ketu North legislator gave an example of an institution that experienced a staff strength increase from 265 before December 7 to 454 by January 7.

“Look at the numbers,” he lamented, but refused to disclose the institution’s name for discretionary reasons.

The MP hailed the efforts the well-meaning majority was mounting to restore Ghana’s fortunes, admitting that the minority were at liberty to do as they pleased, including but not limited to staying out of a forum as critical as the National Economic Dialogue 2025.

He was optimistic that “with or without them, Ghana will make progress” and find a way out of its present economic woes.

However, having chalked the NPP’s boycott of the National Economic Dialogue 2025 to the party’s strategy to avoid any form of accountability, he expressed conviction in the full force of ORAL to hold accountable all who will be found guilty of causing any financial loss to the state.

“We wish them well in their boycott. They can boycott any other thing in this country, but there’s one thing they cannot boycott, and that is accountability.

“When we begin to implement the findings in the ORAL and any other adverse findings against them, they will not boycott the accountability process.”

The MP further assured all who had been genuinely employed and hence affected by the government’s dismissals to have faith in the system, promising it would soon be replenished with jobs for everyone.

He also urged the youth to hope in President Mahama’s plans to resolve unemployment, assuring that only appropriate channels would be used to recruit when it is time.

This, he explained, would ensure free and fair opportunities for everyone who applies and is qualified for any job.