Rev. Fordjour Slams Mahama’s Military Shake-Up as ‘Backward’
Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, Member of Parliament for Assin South and Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee, has strongly criticised President John Dramani Mahama’s sweeping changes to the leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), calling the move “backward, costly, and far-fetched.”
He argued that Ghana’s defense strategy should prioritize stability and experience rather than abrupt leadership changes that could weaken the institution.
The shake-up, announced on Monday, March 17, 2025, saw the removal of the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, and the Chief of Air Staff. Additionally, 12 of the most senior officers, holding ranks of Major-General and above—including 2-star, 3-star, and 4-star Generals—were also dismissed.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ntim Fordjour warned that the mass removal of top military officials would have far-reaching consequences on the morale and operational efficiency of the armed forces.
He also highlighted the financial burden that the move would place on the state, pointing out that many of the dismissed officers still had up to six years before reaching the mandatory retirement age.
Furthermore, Ntim Fordjour expressed concern that the restructuring would compromise military effectiveness, arguing that replacing seasoned top officers with lower-ranked Brigadier Generals (1-star Generals) would weaken the chain of command.
“What this implies on the public purse is that gratuities will have to be paid running into millions of cedis due to the egoistic premature dismissals of senior ranked generals, replacing them with lower ranked Brigadier Generals and equivalent (1-star Generals) at the command of Ghana Armed Forces.
“Just when Ghana expanded its military might; upgrading key corps such as armour, artillery, signals and 48 Engineers to Brigade status thereby attaining 4-star General status for the Chief of Defence of Staff, Mahama has reset the top hierarchy back to 1-star General as Chief of Defence Staff. This reset is indeed backward, costly and farfetched,” part of his X post stated.
President Mahama has today dismissed Chief of Defence Staff and all Service Chiefs in Ghana Armed Forces and all 12 most senior military officers of the rank of Major-General equivalent and above (i.e all 2 star Generals, 3 star Generals and 4 star General). Most of these… pic.twitter.com/OLX48y4NHj
— John Ntim Fordjour MP (@NtimFordjour) March 18, 2025
