Minority walkout on BoG briefing was about publicity, not accountability - Ayariga

Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has accused the Minority of seeking media attention rather than answers from the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Johnson Asiama, after they walked out of a parliamentary engagement.

The Minority withdrew from proceedings on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 following a disagreement over the decision to hold the BoG Governor’s appearance before the Committee of the Whole in-camera.

Addressing journalists after the walkout he defended the decision, explaining that Parliament’s Standing Orders allow committee meetings to be held privately if members agree to it.

He referenced Order 266, which states that committee meetings should be public unless the committee determines otherwise.

Majority shielding public from 'honest admission' on BoG governor’s answers - Gideon Boako

“If you read our Standing Orders, it says in Order 266 that meetings of committees shall be held in public except otherwise determined by the committee. So I asked them to convince the entire committee to sit in public. But if you don’t convince the committee to agree to sit in public, you cannot force a committee to sit in public,” he said.

He said the Minority had the opportunity to persuade the Committee of the Whole to allow the engagement to be open to the public but failed to secure the needed support.

He dismissed claims that the BoG Governor was unwilling to face scrutiny, noting that the Governor had prepared responses to Parliament’s questions and was ready to provide the necessary information.

According to him, the Minority’s decision to leave the chamber suggested that its priority was creating a public spectacle rather than engaging the central bank chief.

Dr Ndoum breaks silence after Supreme Court ruling

The walkout followed the Minority’s objection to First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor’s ruling that the BoG Governor’s briefing should be held behind closed doors.

DR/SA