The Minority Caucus in Parliament has accused the government of orchestrating what it describes as the “largest recruitment scam in Ghana’s recent history” after it emerged that only 5,000 applicants will be recruited into the country’s security services out of more than 506,000 applicants.
Addressing a press conference, Revered John Ntim Fordjour, said the recruitment exercise conducted under the Ministry of the Interior (Ghana) lacked transparency, fairness and credibility, leaving hundreds of thousands of Ghanaian youth feeling deceived and exploited.
The recruitment process covered four security institutions: the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service and the Ghana Prisons Service.
According to the Minority, over 506,000 Ghanaian youth responded to the government’s call in 2025 to apply for recruitment into the security services after promises were made during the 2024 campaign season.
“These young men and women, full of hope and patriotism, were made to believe they were being offered a genuine opportunity to serve their country and secure a dignified livelihood,” the caucus said.
However, the situation took a dramatic turn when the Interior Minister announced at a press conference that only 5,000 applicants would ultimately be recruited from the enormous pool of applicants.
The Minority described the revelation as shocking and devastating for hundreds of thousands of young people who had invested time, money and hope in the process.
“The fundamental question that must be asked is this: if the government intended to recruit only 5,000 personnel, why lure over 506,000 unsuspecting young people to go through a costly and emotionally exhausting process?” the statement asked.
The caucus also criticised the government’s decision to increase the recruitment age limit to 35 years, arguing that the policy shift widened the applicant pool and raised expectations among thousands of unemployed youth.
“Such a decision was reckless, misguided, and intended to create the false impression that government had sufficient financial clearance to accommodate more applicants,” the Minority said.
They further accused the government of exploiting applicants through the GHC220 application fee charged for the recruitment forms.
According to the caucus, the process generated about GHC111.3 million from the more than 506,000 applicants.
“The government exploited GHC220 application fees from each of the 506,000 applicants, resulting in the generation of over GHC111 million from this rather exploitative process,” the Minority alleged.
The group also raised concerns about the internet-based aptitude test used in the recruitment process, claiming it was riddled with technical difficulties that resulted in many applicants being unfairly disqualified.
“The internet-based aptitude test was saddled with a plethora of challenges orchestrated to frustrate applicants, resulting in mass disqualifications as many encountered connectivity challenges and were timed out within minutes,” the statement said.
The Minority insisted the recruitment exercise cannot be described as merit-based and warned that the integrity of national recruitment processes must not be compromised.
“The Minority Caucus in Parliament cannot remain silent while hundreds of thousands of Ghanaian youth are being scammed and treated with such disregard,” the statement stressed.
The caucus is therefore demanding an independent bipartisan parliamentary probe into the centralized recruitment exercise.
It is also calling on the government to refund the GHC220 application fees to applicants who were disqualified during the process.
“These applicants should not be forced to bear the financial consequences of what appears to be a poorly managed and exploitative recruitment process,” the Minority stated.
