Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has told the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, that Parliament’s decision not to allow the media to be present during the Bank of Ghana Governor’s probe creates the impression that there’s something to hide.
According to Manasseh Azure, if there’s nothing to hide, the Majority do not need to keep things in the dark, arguing that holding the session behind closed doors creates unnecessary public suspicion.
He stressed that the Majority leader’s quest for bragging rights should not push him to set precedents that will hurt governance in the future.
Manasseh Azure Awuni recounted that under the Akufo-Addo administration, Mahama Ayariga was at the forefront of demanding accountability from the Bank of Ghana Governor, asking him what has changed.
In an open letter addressed to Mahama Ayariga, Manasseh Azure Awuni wrote, “Dear Mahama Ayariga,
Yesterday, I watched a video clip of your press conference in which you tried to defend why the Governor of the Bank of Ghana’s appearance in parliament was held in camera.
If you watch that clip, you will conclude the same way many Ghanaians have concluded—unconvincing. You laboured uncharacteristically and in vain to make meaning of what happened.
In the Akufo-Addo administration, you were at the forefront of demanding accountability from the Bank of Ghana Governor, writing RTI requests and publishing your findings. You even threatened to drag them to the OSP for investigation because they failed to give you some of the information.
What has changed?
Before yesterday’s incident, the majority you lead in parliament also stopped the motion to probe the Goldbod deal.
Is this the new creed of a party founded on probity, transparency and accountability?
The opacity creates the impression that there’s something to hide. It is not good for our democracy. It heightens suspicion when, in some of these cases, there might be nothing beyond the nuisance value.
I have read that some NPP MPs wanted to corner the Governor into agreeing that the currency stability we are enjoying is the result of a gold-buying initiative credited to Dr Bawumia.
A quest for bragging rights should not push you to set precedents that will hurt governance in the future.
If there’s nothing to hide, don’t keep things in the dark. It makes the government worse, not better.
Manasseh Azure Awuni’s comment follows Mahama Ayariga, who has said the Ghana cedi will be affected if the media is allowed to cover the questioning of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) governor.
According to Mahama Ayariga, the media coverage of parliamentary questioning of Bank of Ghana Governor Dr Johnson Asiama risks destabilising the cedi due to the sensitivity of central bank comments on currency stability.
Speaking to journalists at the forecourt of Parliament on July 15, 2026, Mahama Ayariga stated, “Now let me say something. For today, there is no issue. Now, if you allow a practice where automatically anybody can drag the central bank governor to this house and, before the cameras, say whatever they want to say, and the governor says certain things — you know how sensitive any comment by a central bank governor is likely to be in relation to the stability of your currency.
So even though this house is trying to make the institutions accountable to the people, you have to do it in a very guarded manner, in a very guided manner. The idea behind making the governor answerable to parliament is so that when we need information we can get it, okay?”
He further added, “But it is not the objective of the rule that we should always subject the central bank governor to a media inquiry. That is the principle. But of course, when you are in a minority, you like the show of a media inquiry, so you will be fighting for a thing like that.
When you are in government, in all sincerity, you will be more cautious in terms of how you manage information about your central bank activities. And so that is basically the issue. I believe that it is better to be cautious than to throw your central bank governor out there and allow people to ask questions [and] say all sorts of things”.
Also, Mahama Ayariga accused the Minority of prioritising media attention over seeking answers from the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), following their walkout during proceedings on Wednesday, July 15.
He added, “If you read our Standing Orders, it says in Order 266 that meetings of committees shall be held in public except otherwise determined by the committee. So I asked them to convince the entire committee to sit in public. But if you don’t convince the committee to agree to sit in public, you cannot force a committee to sit in public”.
Mahama Ayariga argued that the Minority actions demonstrated that they were “more interested in the media optics” than obtaining answers from the central bank chief and also criticised the Minority for disregard for parliamentary procedures.
“If you want to do that, you have to approach us, you have to work with us, and we will all agree that this is how we are going to do it,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the minority has criticised the majority caucus for holding the Bank of Ghana Governor’s appearance before Parliament behind closed doors, preventing media coverage of his responses to key questions.
The development follows the questions, filed by the Ranking Member on the Economy & Development Committee, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, which sought details on the source of foreign exchange used for market interventions, the framework guiding those interventions, and the total amount injected into the forex market since January 2025.
See the post below:
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