Reshuffle Ministers Who Skip Parliament ..Says Annoh-Dompreh

The Minority Chief Whip in Parliament has appealed directly to President John Mahama, urging a first ministerial reshuffle to address what they described as a disturbing culture of absenteeism after some ministers repeatedly failed to attend parliamentary sessions.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, on Tuesday, December 16, 2026 the Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh urged the President to conduct an immediate reshuffle, stressing that ministers who were “not ready to do public business” should be replaced.

“The President must be watching. The first reshuffle must happen,” he said.

The call came after Members of Parliament waited in vain for ministers who never appeared. Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba, the Minister of State in Charge of Public Sector Reforms, and Eric Opoku, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, were among those who were one of the ministers absent from Parliament and did not show up to answer questions about their sectors.

“Beside, Minister of Agric just wrote to us, I was just given a copy that he cannot come, that’s fine. Eric [Opoku] has been a very dutiful person. I won’t begrudge him. His deputy must be here,” he said, insisting that parliamentary rules required that a deputy minister should attend in place of an absent minister.

He expressed frustration over the delays in responding to parliamentary questions, noting that some questions had been on the Order Paper for a long time.

“These are questions for the minister in charge of public sector reforms. It has been on the Order Paper for a very long time. So, we have to take these questions, because we are rising on Friday. Otherwise, it is going to be a problem,” he emphasized.

He also highlighted that other members, like Honourable Vanderpuye, had been waiting to raise their questions for a long time, pointing out that delays in ministerial responses were frustrating legislative work.

He urged that members of the Majority who were ready to serve should be given the chance to answer questions and reminded the Presidency to take note of developments in Parliament.

The Minority Chief Whip has repeatedly expressed concern over absenteeism among ministers in the John Mahama-led government. He noted that it has become a trend for ministers to ignore parliamentary invitations, undermining legislative oversight.

As a member of the Business Committee, Mr. Annoh-Dompreh revealed that the issue has been raised multiple times in previous sittings, yet little has changed. In many cases, ministers fail to provide official explanations for their absence, making it difficult for Parliament to function effectively.

The Minority is therefore calling for urgent action to ensure ministers are held accountable and Parliament can carry out its work without unnecessary delays.