By Daniel Bampoe
A dramatic standoff unfolded in Parliament on Wednesday after the Minority Caucus suspended its participation in proceedings involving the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson Asiama, protesting what it described as an unprecedented decision by the NDC Majority to bar the media from covering a Committee of the Whole sitting convened to examine the Governor on key monetary policy issues.
The controversy erupted after the Majority successfully requested that the engagement with the BoG Governor be held in camera, prompting First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor to order journalists out of the public gallery before questioning commenced.
The decision immediately drew strong objections from the Minority, which argued that Parliament was denying Ghanaians access to answers on issues of significant public interest, particularly surrounding the Bank of Ghana’s foreign exchange interventions, policy decisions and financial performance.
Leading the protest, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee and Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, questioned why the proceedings had suddenly been closed to the public when the media had openly covered previous appearances by Bank of Ghana Governors before Parliament.
He argued that Parliament had established a tradition of transparency, citing earlier Committee of the Whole engagements involving the Electoral Commission Chairperson and previous central bank governors, which were broadcast publicly.
Addressing a hurriedly convened press conference after the walkout, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said the Minority had been preparing to ask critical questions regarding the credibility of some figures published by the central bank and expected the Governor to provide explanations before the Ghanaian public.
“There are questions about the credibility of some of the figures they have been putting out that we are going to put to him, and they don’t want you to hear the answers,” he told journalists.
He announced that, in protest against the exclusion of the media, the Minority had suspended its participation in the proceedings while its leadership engaged parliamentary authorities to reconsider the decision.
“We are here to inform you this afternoon that as a result of their decision not to allow you to cover, we have suspended our participation. Our leadership will continue to engage so that they do the right thing,” he stated.
According to the former Information Minister, the Governor had already submitted written responses to the parliamentary questions, which had been published on Parliament’s Order Paper, making the information no longer confidential.
He therefore questioned the justification for preventing journalists from witnessing the oral responses and follow-up questions.
“Earlier, the Governor submitted his answers, and I’m going to read to you the answers they don’t want you to hear. The responses have already been published on the Order Paper, so they are matters that are not secret,” he argued.
Mr. Oppong Nkrumah further disclosed that the Governor’s written responses indicated that since August 2024, the Bank of Ghana had not been directly intervening in the foreign exchange market using the country’s foreign reserves but had instead relied on proceeds generated from the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
He questioned why the Majority was unwilling to allow the Governor to publicly explain the Bank’s foreign exchange strategy.
“The Bank of Ghana is here to admit that its ability to intervene on the market is as a result of the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme. Why is it that the Majority is preventing the Governor from saying this to the entire country?” he asked.
The Minority also intended to seek clarification on the total amount of foreign exchange interventions undertaken by the central bank since January 7, 2025, the source of the forex used in those interventions, and the framework governing the interventions.
The three parliamentary questions filed by Mr. Oppong Nkrumah sought answers on:
the source of the foreign exchange being used for market interventions;
the framework governing the Bank’s foreign exchange intervention policy; and
the total value of foreign exchange interventions undertaken by the Bank of Ghana since January 7, 2025.
Beyond the forex questions, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah indicated that the Minority had planned to interrogate the Governor over issues surrounding the Bank’s recently published audited financial statements, including questions relating to the central bank’s reported losses and figures contained in the accounts.
He argued that Parliament is “the House of accountability” and that proceedings involving the country’s central bank should be conducted openly unless there were compelling national security reasons to justify secrecy.
“This is the House of accountability. This is the people’s House. This is where the people must hear the answers to all of these questions. Today, as we advertise the practice of an open Parliament, why do you want to close questions that have been advertised and answers advertised to the public?” he asked.
The Minority maintained that transparency was essential because the issues under discussion affected the Ghanaian economy and the lives of ordinary citizens.
However, the Majority defended the decision.
Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga rejected suggestions that the media exclusion was intended to shield the Governor from scrutiny. He argued that Parliament’s Standing Orders permit committees to determine whether meetings should be held in public or in private.
Citing Order 266 of the Standing Orders, Mr. Ayariga explained that committee meetings are public unless the committee decides otherwise, adding that the Minority had failed to convince members of the Committee of the Whole to hold the sitting publicly.
According to him, the Governor had come fully prepared to answer all the questions submitted and had no intention of avoiding accountability.
He accused the Minority of seeking publicity rather than genuine answers, insisting that members who truly wanted accountability would have remained in the chamber to question the Governor instead of staging a walkout.
Mr. Ayariga further stressed that parliamentary proceedings must be governed by established rules and not by the preferences of individual Members of Parliament.
The confrontation marks the latest chapter in the growing political contest over the Bank of Ghana’s management of the economy.
In recent months, the Minority has repeatedly challenged the central bank over its foreign exchange interventions, gold transactions, reported financial losses, and monetary policy decisions.
The dispute has intensified following the publication of the Bank’s 2025 audited financial statements and ongoing disagreements over the interpretation of the figures contained in those accounts.
