Former Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul said Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings was never a serious contender to lead Ghana’s Defence Ministry, dismissing weeks of speculation following President John Dramani Mahama’s latest cabinet reshuffle.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Friday, Mr. Nitiwul, the Member of Parliament for Bimbilla, said political signals in the weeks leading up to the reshuffle consistently pointed to Kenneth Gilbert Adjei as the president’s preferred choice for the portfolio.

“She stood no chance at all, especially from the last month of July when information started coming,” Mr. Nitiwul said. “The information we kept getting was that she still had no chance at all.”
President Mahama on Friday nominated Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings, the MP for Klottey-Korle, as Minister-designate for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, while naming Mr. Adjei as Minister-designate for Defence.

According to Mr. Nitiwul, those familiar with developments within government had expected the Defence Ministry to change hands in July, with Mr. Adjei widely viewed as the leading candidate.
“Anybody who was in the midst of those working with the minister, or who put his ears on the ground, knew that the replacement for the Minister of Defence was going to come in July and that it would be Ken,” he said.

Mr. Nitiwul added that Mr. Adjei had been considered for the role from the early stages of the Mahama administration, making his eventual nomination unsurprising. He cautioned, however, that the president alone determines ministerial appointments and said the incoming defence minister should ultimately be judged by his performance in office.

Source:TheDotNews