Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah is the Member of Parliament of Manhyia South
The Member of Parliament of Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has strongly opposed the appointment of Dr. Johnson Asiama as the new Bank of Ghana Governor, indicating his alleged involvement in the collapse of several banking institutions, which led to the banking sector cleanup.
Speaking on Lawson TV on Monday, February 10, 2025, Baffour Awuah claimed that Dr. Asiamah, who previously served as the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana from 2016 to 2017, was responsible for supervising banking institutions to ensure they adhered to financial regulations and complied with the law, as well as monitoring potential financial risks to people’s investments.
According to him, Dr. Asiama’s failure to provide adequate oversight and thorough scrutiny of certain banks facing severe challenges, despite his explicit role in ensuring proper banking supervision ultimately contributed to the collapse of these institutions, reflecting his lack of qualifications for the position.
“Under Mahama’s government in 2012-2016, there was a main governor called Wampah. His first deputy was called Nashiru and Dr. Asiamah was the second deputy governor. He was in charge of banking supervision, which means he was to supervise banks and ensure they were operating in accordance with the financial sector laws.
“Microfinance and savings and loans were all under his supervision. Reports from the IMF and the Bank of Ghana all indicated that the banking sector was in serious crisis and that some of the banks needed to be collapsed, which we call clean up,” he said.
The lawmaker, representing the New Patriotic Party (NPP), believes that Dr. Asiamah’s role as the head of banking supervision during the period of the banking sector cleanup makes him the person most responsible for the banking crisis.
He maintained that Dr. Asiama’s failure to foresee the looming crisis raised valid concerns about his negligence, arguing that his appointment to lead Ghana’s central bank could pose serious issues if not addressed.
“Many of the bank owners acknowledged that the banks were in a financial crisis and needed to be cleaned up. If the banks had problems and were in crisis, who was in charge of supervision? It was Asiama who was the supervisor and so if he did not see whatever happened, then we can say he was negligent, which is worse. If it wasn’t negligence, then it was incompetence,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Baffour Awuah has urged President John Dramani Mahama to revoke the appointment of Dr. Asiama if he genuinely has the country’s best interests at heart.
“I want to tell President John Mahama that if truly he has the best interests of the country at heart and wants to curb corruption, then he should withdraw the appointment of the BoG governor,” he added.
Baffour Awuah is the latest to join other members of the New Patriotic Party in calling for the withdrawal of the Bank of Ghana governor’s appointment.
MAG/AE
Watch the latest edition of BizTech below:
Click here to follow the GhanaWeb Business WhatsApp channel