President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo presenting the instrument of Office to Dr Bernard Okoe Boye (left), the new Deputy Minister of Health. Picture SAMUEL TEI ADANO

President swears in Okoe Boye as Deputy Minister of Health

Donald Ato Dapatem Apr - 21 - 2020 , 13:25

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday swore in the Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, as a Deputy Minister of Health, charging him to support the Minister of Health in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You are going to the area which is at the forefront of the crisis, the Ministry of Health; your job is to go and give maximum support to your minister. Let him have your confidence and let him be assured that you have come to help so that together we can all work to get our country out of this crisis.”

Challenging times

President Akufo-Addo administered the Oath of Secrecy, the Oath of Office and the Oath of Allegiance to Dr Oko Boye. He was presented with an Instrument of Office.

President Akufo-Addo said the deputy minister was coming onboard the ship of state at the tail end of the mandate of the government but at the most challenging time for Ghana, occasioned by COVID-19 which had changed the life of the people and the governance of the state.

He said he had come at a challenging and difficult time but those who knew Dr Oko Boye were confident that he had what it took to confront these challenges and add his talent and energy to the work of the government.

The President said he had known Dr Oko Boye for a long time, starting from his days as a young medical doctor in his (President’s) hometown, Kyebi in the Eastern Region, and that was where they became friends and was happy that he was joining his government as a deputy minister.

Appreciation

Dr Okoe Boye thanked the President for the honour done him by the appointment and pledged to give all he had to support the minister and the government to deal with the pandemic.

Born in Teshie in the Greater Accra Region on January 25, 1982, Dr Oko Boye is a New Patriotic Party member.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health (MPH) from Hamburg School of Applied Science, an A1 Certificate In German (Goethe Institute, Accra), BSc In Medicine and Surgery from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and BSc Human Biology from the same institution.