‘I will engage Ato Forson on BoG report, not you’ — Oppong-Nkrumah replies Sammy Gyamfi
The war of words over the 2025 financial statements of the Bank of Ghana has intensified, with Ofoase-Ayirebi MP Kojo Oppong Nkrumah telling GoldBod Chief Executive Sammy Gyamfi that the proper person to answer questions regarding the central bank’s accounts is Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson and not party communicators or appointees.
The latest exchange forms part of a growing political confrontation between the opposition New Patriotic Party Minority and the governing National Democratic Congress over the true extent of losses recorded by the Bank of Ghana in 2025.
The controversy began after the central bank released its audited financial statements showing an operating loss of GH¢15.63 billion alongside an additional GH¢19.32 billion loss captured under Other Comprehensive Income (OCI).
While the NDC government and Majority MPs insist the relevant loss figure remains the GH¢15.6 billion operating loss, the Minority Caucus has maintained that the broader financial impact reflected in the accounts amounts to GH¢34.9 billion.
The dispute escalated after Sammy Gyamfi, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Gold Board, accused Mr Oppong Nkrumah of using “voodoo mathematics” to inflate the Bank’s losses.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points, Sammy Gyamfi defended the audited accounts prepared by KPMG and argued that the GH¢15.6 billion operating loss remains the correct figure for assessing the financial health of the Bank.
He accused the Minority MP of misleading the public and challenged his interpretation of the accounts, insisting that the audited Profit and Loss statement should be the basis for evaluating the Bank’s performance.
But in a strongly worded response on Facebook, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah rejected the accusations and accused the government of attempting to divert attention from what he described as the central bank’s worsening financial condition.
“Sammy, I understand your intention to turn this into a contest between us. You want to divert attention from the Bank of Ghana’s substantial loss of GH¢34.9 billion and your party’s broken promise of financial discipline at the Bank of Ghana,” he wrote.
The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Economy and Development Committee argued that the Bank’s own balance sheet combines both the operating loss and OCI losses, reducing the institution’s net equity by the full GH¢34.9 billion rather than only the GH¢15.6 billion operating loss being emphasized by government officials.
According to him, attempts to isolate only the operating loss amount amount to selective accounting and undermine transparency.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah also exposed the government of changing accounting standards after 2024 by moving certain losses out of the Profit and Loss account into OCI, a development he claimed affected the comparability of the Bank’s financial performance over the years.
He further argued that KPMG itself acknowledged in its audit opinion that the accounts were prepared under the Bank’s own accounting standards rather than fully under International Financial Reporting Standards.
However, the sharpest aspect of Mr Oppong Nkrumah’s response focused on the role being played by Sammy Gyamfi in publicly defending the Bank’s financial statements.
According to the former Information Minister, the Bank of Ghana’s accounts are not the responsibility of the GoldBod CEO or political communicators, but rather fall under the constitutional and statutory responsibility of the Finance Minister.
“The Bank of Ghana’s 2025 accounts are not the responsibility of GoldBod’s CEO or the NDC’s National Communications Officer. They belong to the Minister for Finance, who must present them to Parliament,” he stated.
He added that if any formal engagement or debate is necessary regarding the Bank’s accounts, he would rather engage directly with Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson.
“If a debate is necessary, Ato Forson should step forward. He has the responsibility, integrity, and competence to do so. Not you, my friend,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah wrote.
The Minority MP also accused Sammy Gyamfi and Majority MPs of obstructing attempts to initiate parliamentary investigations into gold-related losses and transactions linked to the Bank of Ghana and GoldBod.
He claimed that since March 27, the Majority has repeatedly frustrated attempts to launch formal parliamentary probes into the issues.
“You claim to welcome a probe, yet you have been evading a Parliamentary investigation into the Gold losses of billions of cedis since March 27th,” he stated.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah challenged the GoldBod CEO to support a parliamentary inquiry and testify under oath if he is confident in the government’s position.
“Until he does, answers are only required from you in a Parliamentary inquiry on the record and under oath. Stop wasting our time and show up,” he added.
The exchange has become the latest chapter in an increasingly fierce national debate over the financial state of the Bank of Ghana, the management of Ghana’s gold reserve programmes, and the broader direction of economic policy under the NDC administration.
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