Former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyapong, has criticised the growing trend of government officials using their personal social media accounts to communicate matters of state, describing the practice as unethical and a violation of public service standards.
His comments follow a post made by Deputy Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Justice Srem-Sai, on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account, explaining the circumstances of the arrest of Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, Mr. Agyapong expressed concern over the blurring of personal and official channels, especially in sensitive cases involving state institutions.
According to him, the usage of personal platforms to share state information not only breaches ethical norms but also undermines public trust in official communication structures.
“EOCO is an intelligence gathering organisation, just looking at economic crime. Apart from the Deputy AG, Srem-Sai, who took this his personal social media handle to explain what Wontumi was being investigated for. His personal handle is not an official handle; that again is wrong.
“It is very wrong for state officials to be promoting their personal social media presence using official issues. That is completely unethical and should go against the code of conduct that the president has put in place.
“If the Attorney General’s Office has a social media handle and officially posts information there, we can accept, as the current position of the Minister of Justice. But not on your personal social media handle, it is incorrect, unethical, and wrong,” he stated.
He called for all official updates to be disseminated through institutional or verified government channels to avoid misinformation and speculation.
“As of now, there is all manner of rumours going around, but they must be official.”
A similar concern was raised by the Minority in Parliament, when the Minister for Foreign Affairs announced the closure of Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., via his personal Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Led by Ranking Member Samuel A. Jinapor, the Minority on Tuesday, May 27, criticised the approach as a sharp departure from Ghana’s tradition of quiet diplomacy.
“We were utterly shocked and surprised to learn of the decision through public announcements, rather than through prior engagement with the Foreign Affairs Committee,” Jinapor said.
“Such a significant action should have been preceded by a briefing to the committee and addressed through tactful diplomatic channels.”