The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority in Parliament has called on the Ministry of the Interior to refund about GH¢111.32 million collected from applicants who failed to qualify for the recent security service recruitment exercise.
The security agencies under the Interior Ministry are the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Ghana Police Service (GPS) and Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS).
According to Minority, each applicant was required to pay a GH¢220 application fee, which means the recruitment process generated approximately GH¢111.32 million from the more than 506,000 applications received.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday, March 12, 2026, the Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament, Rev John Ntim Fordjour, insisted that failed applicants must not lose their application fees.
His call followed revelations by the Minister for the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, that more than 105,000 out of the applicants have qualified for the medical stage of the ongoing recruitment, despite only 5,000 positions being available for final enlistment.
Consequently, the Ranking Member on the Defence and Interior Committee accused the government of exploiting applicants, reiterating the demand by the Minority group for a refund as well as a thorough investigation into the matter.
The Minority Caucus also accused the government of orchestrating what it described as the largest recruitment scam in the country’s recent history, following the revelations that only 5,000 applicants will be recruited.
It expressed deep concern about the transparency, fairness, and integrity of the recruitment process, claiming the exercise appears designed to exploit unemployed Ghanaian youth.
“Already, we have a national security threat and unemployment on our hands. You promised them jobs. You didn’t add any conditions.
“Then you turn around, you politically expand the age limit from twenty-five to thirty-five, signalling that there is more room and more access, more financial clearance, which was a lie.
“You knew from the very beginning you were recruiting only 5,000, and yet you did all this to lure half a million people, took their money, and milked them for GH¢111.32 and over, only to turn around yesterday, after you have knocked them out by technology and internet disruptions from the aptitude test,” Rev. Fordjour who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin South, further lamented.
Campaign promise
The Minority recalled that the recruitment drive was widely promoted as part of a campaign promise of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the 2024 general election, encouraging thousands of young people to apply for positions in the security services.
However, the situation changed dramatically after the Interior Minister announced at a news conference that only 5,000 applicants would ultimately be recruited.
Applicants left shocked
The Minority noted that the announcement by the interior minister has left hundreds of thousands of applicants devastated and disillusioned.
Rev. Fordjour questioned why the government would encourage such a large number of young people to apply if only a small fraction would eventually be selected.
“If the government intended to recruit only 5,000 personnel, why should it lure over 506,000 unsuspecting young people into going through a costly and emotionally exhausting process?” Rev. Fordjour quizzed.
Recruitment age
The Minority also criticised the government’s decision to increase the recruitment age limit to 35 years, arguing that the move encouraged even more unemployed youth to apply under the belief that more positions were available.
Application fees and aptitude test
The Minority further raised concerns about the financial burden placed on applicants through new processes.
According to the caucus, the internet-based aptitude test used in the recruitment process was plagued with technical difficulties that caused many applicants to be disqualified due to connectivity issues and timeouts.
By Collins Adu-Gyamfi
