Mogtari takes on Afenyo-Markin over alleged petition regarding security scandal

Presidential Advisor and Special Aide to President John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has stated that no petition or report regarding a security sector scandal has been brought to the president’s attention.

This follows allegations by the Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, who claimed that the Ministry of the Interior contracted a private software developer to create a platform for processing AI-generated aptitude questions for potential recruits into various security agencies.

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Responding to the issue on Woezor TV on March 1, 2026, Bawah Mogtari said, “I have not seen, and of course I'm not the president's legal counsel. I have not heard that a petition of any kind regarding a matter of this nature has actually been brought to the attention of His Excellency the President or his office for that matter.”

She emphasised the importance of evidence, noting that serious allegations require proper documentation.

“I'm sure there are other offices well placed to respond specifically whether indeed there's been such a petition, but I also do know that because lawyers are mostly very big on evidence that if you were to have such information in your bosom, you will do well to actually even show by hand that this is the document that actually went to the presidency.

“This is a petition that was submitted on the matter or that this is the report that you know was actually referred to the Office of Attorney General, etc. So, I have no way of supporting this particular report,” she indicated.

Mogtari dismissed the allegations as “totally needless,” describing them as a diversionary tactic by the Minority Leader aimed at generating what she called “unnecessary” public attention.

“I consider that totally needless, short of just courting unnecessary public attention, I don't see whatever value that anybody will place on that effusion by the Minority Leader,” she stated.

Criticising Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, Joyce Bawah Mogtari questioned the rationale behind the leader raising the issue during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament.

She argued that, as the Minority Leader, he should have acted responsibly with his statements and claims, especially given his awareness of the proper channels and procedures for handling such allegations.

“If this is a rumor, if even if it is largely born out of maybe a whistleblower's information, was that really the appropriate platform for a Minority Leader from a pseudo supposedly or one that we all expect in many ways to actually be a responsible opposition to be speaking to conjecture at such a public forum.

“If you ask me for a very professional perspective in the fact that Honorable Afenyo is a lawyer, I'm surprised that he will present it in the way that he did when there are appropriate quarters to receive this,” she added.

The Minority Leader first raised concerns about the ongoing recruitment exercise using the AI-powered platform for aptitude testing.

He highlighted difficulties for prospective recruits, particularly those in areas with limited internet access, and has since expressed his intention to pursue the matter further.

He has suggested a conflict of interest and read criminality in the deployment of the Tribe Net platform, warning that an unnamed Mahama appointee, a woman, could face imprisonment in the future.

“The person behind Tribe Net, who has been duping innocent Ghanaians, will be exposed. We know her, and very soon, she will be exposed,” the Minority Leader threatened in Parliament, in the presence of President John Dramani Mahama, on Friday, during the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA).

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The Effutu MP noted that under the arrangement, applicants are not answering questions based on their prospective fields.

“The entire process is now centralised at the Ministry of Interior, a private software developer has been tasked to create a data collection platform which is empowered to run the process through the use of AI-generated aptitude examination with minimal visible involvement of institutional leadership of the affected services,” he alleged.

MAG/AE

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