During the interview, Agbana questioned the motives behind the NPP’s recruitment of workers after their defeat in the 2020 elections.
He argued that the timing and nature of the appointments suggested political opportunism rather than genuine concern for the welfare of Ghanaians.
In his words, “If they indeed genuinely care about those so-called employees that have been sacked now, why didn’t they employ them within the 8 years? And they had to wait till after they lost the elections miserably before they appointed people and gave out appointment letters after December 7th.”
Agbana accused the previous administration of creating an unsustainable payroll burden by recruiting individuals, some of whom he alleged were “foot soldiers” of the NPP, after their electoral defeat.
He cited the existence of ghost names in government payrolls as evidence of systemic inefficiencies under the NPP’s leadership.
He stated, “You mismanaged the economy with even an over-bloated payroll with many ghost names, including the over 880,000 ghost names at the National Service Authority.
“When you were voted out of power and you were exiting, you were now engaged in the business of recruiting your foot soldiers to come and again increase the numbers on the payroll, and you expect the new government that just comes in to inherit that.”
Acknowledging the plight of ordinary Ghanaians affected by recent dismissals, Agbana clarified that not all those employed after the elections were politically aligned with the NPP.
He emphasized that many of the recruits were regular citizens seeking employment opportunities.
“You can’t describe all those who have been employed necessarily as foot soldiers. Yes, you agree with that point? I agree with you because, in fact, some of those who are watching us are very ordinary Ghanaians,” he said.
However, Agbana was quick to criticize the NPP’s post-election recruitment strategy, describing it as a deliberate ploy to overburden the incoming administration.
He reassured affected individuals that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) remains committed to job creation and will adopt transparent and merit-based processes to address unemployment if elected back into power.
“I want the good people of Ghana, especially the young people who genuinely were employed after December 7, to know that President Mahama will create jobs. We will use the appropriate channels to employ people. Put in your application, and if you’re qualified and you go through the processes, you will be employed and work for the good people of Ghana,” Agbana stated.
To further clarify his position, the MP noted that the NDC was not dismissing individuals employed in good faith during the NPP’s tenure but was addressing what he referred to as politically motivated appointments.
He remarked, “We are not dismissing people that have been employed in 2022. We are not dismissing people that were even employed in June 2024 or November 2024. But we are dismissing people who were…”