Dr Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison
President Akufo-Addo has appointed Dr Ernest Kwamina Yedu Addison as the new Governor of Bank of Ghana, subject to the consultation with the Council of State, a statement from the Presidency last night said.
This was after the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Abdul Nashiru Issahaku, has resigned from his post three years to the end of his tenure.
Dr Addison, former Head of Research at BoG, now works as Head of Research at the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Dr Issahaku announced his resignation on Wednesday on “personal reasons.”
The outgoing governor also explained that the decision to step down was the outcome of an agreement reached with the current government earlier this month.
He might be paid off since he could not execute his contract.
The outgoing governor was appointed on April 4, 2016 by former President John Mahama following the voluntary resignation of Dr. Henry Kofi Wampah.
The governor is said to have informed some critical international institutions that the Central Bank works with, like the IMF, of his decision to step down.
Dr Issahaku would later this week formally engage staff of the Central Bank about his resignation.
He was said to have recently approved 30 percent pay rise across board in one of the biggest pay rise for staff of the bank.
Dr Issahaku was the Second Deputy Governor before his elevation by ex-President John Mahama, his personal friend.
The outgoing governor, a card-bearing member of the NDC, contested in the party’s parliamentary elections in Tamale.
Some critics called for his resignation due to his links with the NDC.
Minister of Policy and Evaluation, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, held that Dr Issahaku should voluntarily step down.
Dr. Akoto Osei explained that the governor’s decision to resign could be largely attributed to the difference in political ideologies between him and the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
According to him, Dr. Issahaku’s open support for the past NDC government could have influenced his decision to resign.
“I’m not surprised and I am sure he has thought through it…when you are a Governor and you have once identified openly with a particular party in terms of being a candidate, it is difficult to convince others that you can work along with a new government with a different ideology so I’m sure he must have thought through it and he decided that was best,” Dr. Akoto Osei told Citi FM.
