BY Daniel Bampoe
Fresh controversy has erupted within the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the ongoing recruitment into the security services, with Interior Minister Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak forced to publicly deny claims that thousands of slots had been reserved for party loyalists.
The issue has further exposed simmering frustration among grassroots supporters of the ruling party who accuse the government of failing to prioritise them in the recruitment exercise.
The debate gained traction after reports circulated on social media and some media platforms claiming that the Interior Minister had stated during an interview on Adom FM that about 30,000 NDC supporters had been allocated slots in the ongoing recruitment process.
The alleged comment quickly generated political backlash and intensified accusations from critics that the recruitment exercise was being manipulated along party lines.
However, Muntaka swiftly distanced himself from the claim. In a post on his Facebook page after the interview, the minister strongly rejected the assertion, stating that his comments had been misrepresented.
“My attention has been drawn to this. The claim is false. I never uttered these words. I urge the media house to retract and apologise for attributing same to me,” he wrote.
The Interior Minister clarified that his actual remarks had been taken out of context. According to him, he had only suggested that among the large number of applicants who had qualified so far in the recruitment process, it was possible that many of them could be NDC supporters.
“Ongoing security services recruitments: Of the total number of qualified applicants so far, it is possible over 30,000 NDC supporters are in there, who knows?” he stated, while urging calm among party members and the public.
The clarification comes at a time when the security services recruitment exercise has become a source of growing discontent among some NDC grassroots supporters who believe the party’s electoral victory in the 2024 general elections should translate into employment opportunities for loyal members.
Many of these supporters—often described as party “footsoldiers”—have expressed anger after failing to progress beyond the aptitude testing stage of the recruitment process.
Some have accused the Interior Minister of introducing strict testing measures that have led to the disqualification of a large number of applicants, including individuals who had expected to benefit from the change of government.
The frustration has played out widely on social media platforms, where some party members have openly criticised the minister and questioned the fairness of the recruitment system. For many of these activists, the expectation had been that party loyalty and campaign efforts would be recognised through access to government jobs, particularly in the security services.
The controversy has also reopened an internal debate within the NDC regarding the long-standing practice of “protocol”—a system where political actors or influential individuals recommend candidates for recruitment into state institutions.
Recently on a Thank You Tour, the National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, had publicly promised that the party would end the culture of protocol in public sector recruitment if it returned to power.
He argued that the practice had historically undermined fairness and competence within public institutions.
Asiedu Nketiah’s position was widely interpreted as part of the party’s broader governance reforms aimed at promoting transparency and meritocracy in public service appointments.
The Interior Ministry’s introduction of a centralized electronic recruitment system and online aptitude testing is seen as part of that effort to eliminate political interference, bribery, and the use of intermediaries to secure jobs within the security services.
Under the current exercise, applicants were required to apply through an online portal before undergoing an aptitude test designed to assess their suitability for service in the various security agencies.
According to figures released by the Interior Ministry, the recruitment drive attracted an overwhelming response from young people across the country, with more than 500,000 applications received for approximately 5,000 available positions across the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service, and Ghana Prisons Service.
Out of these applicants, about 400,000 candidates sat for the aptitude test. Only those who achieved the required benchmark of 65 percent were allowed to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process, which involves medical examinations and further background checks.
Approximately 105,000 applicants reportedly met the required pass mark to qualify for the medical screening stage.
Despite these figures, the large number of disqualified applicants—many of whom are believed to be supporters of the governing party—has fuelled anger within sections of the NDC grassroots, who feel that the recruitment exercise has not met their expectations.
Political observers say the dispute highlights the ongoing tension between the government’s promise to introduce merit-based recruitment into public institutions and the expectations of party supporters who anticipate rewards following electoral victories.
For his part, Muntaka has maintained that the recruitment process must remain transparent and merit-based if Ghana’s security services are to maintain professionalism and discipline.
The Interior Minister has repeatedly warned against the use of protocol and political influence in recruitment, stressing that the government is determined to end practices that have historically undermined credibility within the country’s security institutions.
