President appoints Dr Asiama as Bank of Ghana Governor

The President, John Dramani Mahama, has appointed Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama to serve as the Governor of the Bank of Ghana pending approval by the Council of State.

Dr Asiama’s nomination follows the receipt and acceptance of a formal request by the current Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, to proceed on leave before retirement on March 31, 2025.

Dr Asiama, who previously served as a Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana between 2016 and 2017, holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Economics from the University of Southampton, UK, and has extensive experience in monetary policy formulation, financial stability regulation and economic research.

He has a wealth of experience in the banking sector, having worked at the Bank of Ghana for over 23 years.

He has over the years demonstrated commitment to implementing sound monetary and exchange rate policy, fostering a stable financial system, as well as promoting accelerated economic growth in Ghana.

Trial

Earlier in the week, the Attorney General withdrew all charges against Dr Asiama, who for the past four years, had been standing trial in two separate cases over the collapse of Unibank and UT Bank.

A notice of withdrawal, filed at the trial court and signed by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, stated: “Please take note that at the next hearing of this suit, the Prosecutor on the instructions of the Honourable Attorney-General hereby withdraws all offences and all charges against Johnson Asiama herein under Sections 59(1), (2)(b)(ii) and (5) of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act (1960), Act 30.”

On February 5, 2020, the Attorney-General dragged Dr Asiama together with the former Minister of Finance, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, over the collapse of the defunct Unibank.

Dr Duffuor was charged with money laundering and dishonestly receiving, while Dr Asiama was charged with willfully causing financial loss to the state.