The yet-to-be vetted deputy minister-nominee for Agric Kennedy Osei Nyarko has waded into the controversial armyworm saga claiming the pests have been defeated.

The Akim Swedru Member of Parliament told Starr News’ Ibrahim Alhassan minutes after his nomination was announced by the Speaker of Parliament that the NPP government fought the worms and have successfully defeated it.

“This armyworm thing was something that was a bother to the government and at certain point in time when the government has introduced the planting for food and job program, and this was just derailing the effort of the government. But the government didn’t sit down, we fought it head-on and we have defeated it. It was an issue but now it is no more. Things are going on and the government has defeated it. Now you are not hearing about it. The government took a bold decision and we have defeated it from the system,” he said.

The claim by the minister-nominee comes exactly six days after his boss the Agric minister Dr. Afriyie Akoto told Morning Starr host Francis Abban that the worms cannot be fully defeated because they are “here to stay”.

“The fall armyworm is a biological phenomenon. They have been here in Ghana for two years, in Africa for two years. They will become part of our fauna.

Ultimately, they will be here. Since this is a phenomenon the armyworm is here and they have come to stay. They will never go away. The challenge is to control them and I am saying that we have controlled them.

Mr. Nyarko replaces Akim Oda MP William Quaitoo who resigned after he was massively criticised for calling northerners “difficult people” while responding to questions on the armyworm invasion on Starr FM.