Fatimatu Abubakar, the Minister for Information and government spokesperson on the 2024 Transition Team, has defended the government’s last-minute recruitments and payments amid criticism from the incoming administration.
On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, the Mahama Transition Team, through its spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu, issued a stern warning that any unauthorized recruitments, promotions, or financial transactions—some reportedly backdated—would be reversed once the formal transfer of power is completed.
Responding to the claims in an interview on Eyewitness News, the Information Minister dismissed the accusations, asserting that all ongoing government activities are being conducted within the framework of the law.
Abubakar emphasized that the current administration retains its full mandate until the official handover and that the actions being undertaken are legitimate and necessary.
She urged the incoming government to respect the processes and avoid politicizing routine administrative decisions.
“The question we should be asking is whether the government is doing anything illegal. If the government is doing something illegal, it does not matter whether it is taking place within the transition period or for the past eight years.
“Anything illegal ought to be prosecuted if they so desire. And I believe that the population of our country will stand with them if that is the tangent they want to go. But if that is not the case, they should not hide behind the transition team to place an embargo on the constitutional mandate of President Akufo-Addo,” she stated.
Fatimatu Abubakar further explained that the activities in question are part of the approved 2024 budget, which was thoroughly scrutinised and passed by Parliament, including members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
She thus expressed surprise that the NDC, after participating in the budgetary process, would now raise concerns about ongoing activities, which she insisted remain within the scope of President Akufo-Addo’s constitutional mandate until the transition is formally completed.
“If you look at all the activities they are complaining about, to the best of my knowledge, these are activities featured in the 2024 budget year. From November 2024, the budget was sent to parliament. They are part of that parliament that sat through the budget; as you know we have hung parliament. So, whatever budget was submitted, they could scrutinize, do the appropriation, and go to the committee and every aspect of the process that led to the passage of the budget.
“They were an integral part of that. When the finance minister went to parliament for reassignment during the midyear budget review, they were part of the same parliament that passed the same expenditure.
“I am surprised, that if there is an activity or an expenditure captured in this budget, and the NDC fully participated in them and were expecting the ministries that are responsible for executing those programmes and projects to have up to the end of President Akufo-Addo’s mandate to do the same, why will they turn around all of a sudden and say there are some irregular activities,” she questioned.
Source: citinewsroom.com