The Parliament of Ghana has assented to the Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025, following its third reading and subsequent endorsement by the house.
This bill introduces changes to the country’s security framework, notably reverting the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) to its original nomenclature, the Bureau of National Intelligence (BNI).
The bill, which has been subject to considerable parliamentary deliberation over the recent weeks, concurrently abolishes the distinct portfolio of Minister for National Security.
Under the newly established framework, the oversight of the National Security Coordinator will be exercised by a minister designated by the President, rather than through a standalone ministry.
Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has argued that the name change was requisite to alleviate persistent public confusion between the intelligence agency and the National Investment Bank, which shares the acronym NIB.
The minority, however, raises concerns about the centralisation of power and the potential weakening of parliamentary oversight.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin had previously warned that the bill concentrated “excessive authority” in the hands of the National Security Coordinator without clear safeguards.
He had also claimed that the memorandum accompanying the bill failed to provide empirical evidence that the existing framework under Act 1030 was ineffective.
