The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Elikem Kotoko, has stated that President John Dramani Mahama is not in a rush to appoint a new minister to lead the Ministry of Defence.
According to him, the interim role taken on by the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, as Acting Minister of Defence is enough to manage the affairs of the ministry.
Defence Minister Dr Omane Boamah, Dr Murtala Mohammed and others dead
He indicated that the President is being measured in appointing a new person to assume the role, given its sensitivity following the passing of Dr Edward Omane Boamah, who previously served as Minister of Defence.
"President Mahama is not under any pressure to even appoint a substantive minister as we speak. You can speak as a security expert that based on ABCD, you think that maybe the finance minister is too constrained but you see, leadership is what President Mahama is showing," he said on Channel One TV on Monday, October 13, 2025.
Kotoko insisted that the presence of Brogya Gyenfi as Deputy Minister for the sector plays several key roles effectively.
"There's a substantive deputy minister of that sector, I hope you are aware, who can play a lot of roles and be reporting to the caretaker minister, my own comrade, Brogya Gyenfi," he added.
Kotoko took a swipe at the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, stating that the current administration, after months in office, has managed the country with few ministers, echoing the president's promise to run a lean government.
"President Mahama for the longest time has even functioned with 56 ministers. In fact, in the success of the seven months that he was in office or so, he was operating with 56 ministers. If now he's dealing with 58 ministers, it is only to tell you that at a time when you were appointing 125 new knights who could not even handle this economy, it was just an avenue to dissipate the public purse," he stated.
Profile of the late Dr Edward Omane Boamah
Dr Cassiel Ato Forson was appointed by the President to serve as Minister of Defence following the tragic passing of Dr Edward Omane Boamah, the former Minister of Defence, who died in a fatal helicopter crash along with seven others on August 6, 2025.