Walewale’s Lariba replaces Adwoa Safo

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Walewale in the North East Region, Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu, has been nominated by President Nana Akufo-Addo as Minister-designate for the Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection, after the hitherto substantive Minister, Sarah Adwoa Safo was sacked last week.

Adwoa Safo had not reported for work at the Ministry for about a year.

An official statement from the Seat of Government, signed on Tuesday August 2, 2022, by Mr. Eugene Arhin, the Director of Communications at the Office of the President, said “pursuant to article 79 of the Constitution, President Akufo-Addo has also nominated Hon. Francisca Oteng Mensah, Member of Parliament for Kwabre East, as Deputy Minister-designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection, subject to the approval of Parliament.”

The statement said the President is hopeful that Parliament will expedite the approval of his two nominees for the “important Ministry, so they can assist in the effective delivery of his mandate for his second term in office.”

The appointment and confirmation of the two nominees would be subject to Parliamentary approval.

Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu has worked at Deputy Minister at the same Ministry and is familiar with the terrain.

She is 56 and before entering Parliament, worked as a Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Social Development at the Northern Development Authority (NDA).

Francisca Oteng Mensah

The deputy-Minister designate, Francisca Oteng Mensah, contested and won the Kwabre East Constituency Parliamentary seat for the NPP in 2016 when she was 23 years old.

Francisca holds a an LLB from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where she was in Level 200 when she contested and won the seat.

Before entering Parliament, Francisca Oteng Mensah worked as a Secretary at the Angel Group of Companies in Kumasi.

The Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection has been under the leadership of a caretaker Minister for a while now after the then Minister, Sarah Adwoa Safo abandoned post.

For the past nine months, Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has acted as caretaker Minister in the absence of Adwoa Safo.