Alhassan Bashir Alhassan Fuseini, former Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu Constituency
The former Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu Constituency, Alhassan Bashir Alhassan (ABA) Fuseini has vehemently rejected the assertion that President John Dramani Mahama’s appointment of COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, as Inspector General of Police (IGP) was a clandestine move to ensure that he retired with the honor of having served as an IGP.
Responding to the claim by Kwame Owusu Danso, host of ‘Good Morning Africa’ on Pan African TV that Yohuno is almost due for retirement, ABA Fuseini argued that Yohuno at the time of appointment was still in active service and deserves the appointment just as any other person in the police service.
The former MP for Sagnarigu further dispelled rumours that the position was a reward for Yohuno to exit the service as an IGP.
Addressing these concerns on Pan African TV on March 14, 2025, ABA Fuseini alluded to the fact that, as long as Christian Tetteh Yohuno was in active service, he had the right to be promoted to any position that became vacant in the service.
“These are legitimate concerns, but as legitimate as these concerns may be, he was not brought in from retirement. We must not be oblivious of the fact that he also has the right as a serving officer. So, when there is a vacancy, the senior most officers are entitled to be promoted to the available position,” he said.
He stressed that he is confident that Christian Tetteh Yohuno would not abandon the good initiatives started by his predecessor George Akuffo Dampare and ensure a seamless transition.
What the law says about extending the contract of a public servant who reaches the age of retirement
The Public Civil Service Act 1993 (PNDCL 327) Amended in 1996 to add Article 199(4) makes provision for the executive to extend the contract of a public servant who reaches retirement while in active service by not more than two years at a time.
Per Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, the Civil Service Act 1993 (PNDCL 327) and the Labour Act of 2003 (Act 651), government workers must compulsorily retire at the age of sixty (60).
However, an extension has legal backing in Ghana’s 1992 Constitution as Amended in 1996 to add Article 199(4) where its framers foresaw that public officers who attain the retirement age of 60 may be engaged for a limited period of not more than two (2) years at a time but not exceeding five (5) years in all.
It is, however, uncertain what action President John Dramani Mahama would take in relation to the newly appointed IGP Christian Tetteh Yohuno.
COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno was sworn in on March 14, 2025, after he was appointed Inspector General of Police by President John Mahama on March 13, 2025.
In a statement by the Minister of Government Communication, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the president, in accordance with the Constitution and the Council of State, made the appointment.
“President John Dramani Mahama has in accordance with Articles 91 and 202 of the 1992 Constitution and in consultation with the Council of State, appointed Commissioner of Police (COP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno as the Inspector-General of Police,” part of the statement reads.
VPO/EK