Daniel Botwe, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development, and Decentralisation, has denied claims that President Akufo-Addo dismissed the 24 District Chief Executives (DECs) for their opposition to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s presidential bid.
There have been rumours that the former DCEs were expelled because they may hinder the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) candidate, Dr. Bawumia’s efforts to win the general election in December 2024.
In an interview on Accra-based Asaase FM, Mr. Botwe stated that such accusations are baseless and should be disregarded as such.
”This speculation has no basis at all. Nobody can make this allegation a statement of fact. The President who has worked with these people knows them very well and knows why he’s kicked them out of office.
“One cannot say that DCEs who have been sacked are from areas where Dr. Bawumia didn’t perform well during the NPP flagbearer race. This claim is not supported by any statistics or any facts, so let’s not make such allegations,” he said.
”The President, at any point in time, looks at the team he’s working with and makes changes as he deems necessary to strengthen his government to enable him to meet the aspirations of the people. That is exactly what he’s done with this reshuffle.”
On Friday, February 2, the President revoked the appointments of twenty-four District Chief Executives (DCEs) nationwide. The revocation was not explained.
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According to some accounts, the DCEs were fired in regions where Dr Bawumia, the party’s candidate for this year’s elections, did poorly in the previous year’s primaries.
Meanwhile, the President, in a separate statement on February 3, appointed 26 new individuals to replace the 24 he fired.
The statement noted, “According to my letter on February 2, 2024, and following article 243 (3) of the Constitution, I have made the following nominations to the office of Chief Executive of the following Municipal and District Assemblies.”
The appointment letter added that the appointment is “pending their approval by their respective assemblies.”