The Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, who also serves as Acting Minister for Defence, has laid bare a staggering US$40 million financial loss to the state under former Defence Minister, Dominic Aduna Bingab Nitiwul, a scandal he revealed, has left Ghana with nothing to show for a colossal outlay to Israeli defence contractor ELBIT Systems Land Ltd.
Dr Forson, revealed that on 13 August 2020, the Akufo-Addo administration signed an US$80 million supplier’s credit agreement with ELBIT Systems Land Ltd for the supply of nineteen (19) Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and related military systems.
But in a damning disclosure before Parliament last Thursday, 13 November 2025, the Finance Minister, announced that half of the contract sum, US$40 million, had already been paid out, yet not a single APC has been delivered to the Ghana Army.
“Mr. Speaker, on 13th August, 2020, the Government of Ghana entered into a supplier’s credit agreement of US$80 million with Messrs. ELBIT Systems Land Ltd for the procurement of nineteen (19) Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and related defence systems”, he said.
Dr Forson went on, “Mr Speaker, sadly, despite the disbursement of US$40 million to the supplier, the Ghana Army has not received a single APC”.
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“In light of the significant payment already made and to prevent financial loss to the State, Government has taken steps to renegotiate the existing agreement with the supplier, and it will be re-presented to parliament for consideration”.
Dr Forson told Parliament as he presented the 2026 Budget and Economic Policy of the Mahama administration.
He said the government has now been forced to renegotiate the deal in order to salvage public funds and prevent further financial haemorrhage, adding that the revised agreement will be sent back to Parliament.
“In light of the significant payment already made and to prevent financial loss to the State, the Government has taken steps to renegotiate the existing agreement with the supplier, and it will be re-presented to Parliament for consideration”.
Dominic Nitiwul, current MP for Bimbilla and Defence Minister throughout President Akufo-Addo’s two terms (2017–2025), oversaw the aborted APC contract. The revelations deepen concerns about procurement mismanagement at the Ministry of Defence during his tenure.
The botched US$40 million APC payment is entirely separate from the controversial purchase of twenty (20) BTR-70 armoured vehicles, Soviet-era equipment sourced from a military scrapyard in Azerbaijan for US$10.5 million.
Those vehicles, linked to Akanni Logistics and Ramelsco Company Ltd, owned by Alhaji Tafiq and associates, have been widely condemned by military experts as “unserviceable”, with some describing them as glorified museum relics. The vehicles are 53 years old.
ELBIT Systems Land Ltd is a globally recognised defence manufacturer supplying advanced technology to over 50 countries.
The issue, the Finance Minister implied, was not the supplier’s credibility but the recklessness of the procurement process and the terms agreed with the company by the Akufo-Addo government, which allowed such a large payment without any delivery guarantee.
Dr Forson also used his budget presentation to set out an ambitious agenda to rebuild the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) following years of underinvestment, procurement scandals and logistical decay.
He paid tribute to the late Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, described as “a fallen hero” of the 6 August 2025 helicopter crash, crediting him as the architect of the GAF retooling strategy.
He stated that “the Government of Ghana is embarking on a comprehensive retooling and modernization programme to strengthen the operational effectiveness of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) beginning 2026″.
“This initiative forms part of a broader national strategy to enhance defence readiness in response to evolving security challenges. This will see, “Significant investments are being made across all three Services, the Ghana Army, Navy and Air Force, to upgrade logistics, equipment and infrastructure” with “the Ghana Army, as the land warfare component of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), will be well positioned in 2026 to enhance operational readiness”.
The Ghana Navy, he said, “remains a key pillar in safeguarding the nation’s maritime domain, ensuring territorial integrity, and protecting strategic offshore assets, including oil and gas installations. Its mandate encompasses maritime security, fisheries protection, counter-piracy, anti-smuggling, as well as search and rescue operations within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)”.
“The Navy, however, faces significant challenges, including an ageing fleet, limited maintenance infrastructure, and uncompleted Forward Operating Base facilities in Ezinlibo in the Western Region. In line with the retooling efforts, Government in 2026 will acquire two (2) 72-meter Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) equipped with helipads and combat systems”.
He explained that “these vessels will enable the Navy to conduct long-endurance patrols, safeguard the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), prevent maritime crimes, protect critical offshore infrastructure, and support bunkering operations and oil field security”.
The Ghana Air Force, he said, also “remains a critical component of national defence, providing aerial surveillance, troop and logistics transport, air defence, maritime patrol support, disaster response, and medevac operations”.
Yet “the Air Force also faces significant operational challenges, including an ageing fleet and aircraft with high maintenance demands, which affect readiness and efficiency.”
However, “the Ghana Air Force will be retooled. Beginning 2026, the Government of Ghana will begin the procurement processes for the acquisition of four modern helicopters, one long-range and one medium-range aircrafts”.
These aircraft, he assured, are expected to be delivered in four years’ time, if the procurement processes are completed in 2026.
