Deputy Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Davis Ansah Opoku, has called for simple adjustments in the handling of religious texts used during oath-taking.

His comments follow a heated exchange at a PAC sitting on May 21, 2026, involving the headmistress of Islamic Girls Senior High School, Safia Salifu, and PAC Chairperson Abena Osei-Asare over the handling of the Quran during oath-taking.

The headmistress had requested that the Quran be given special handling due to its sacred nature in Islam, asking that it be placed in a separate box and handled by a Muslim officer.

“I have a plea, honourable chair. Please can you put Honourable Miss Bao in charge of our Quran because we don’t put anything on Quran and it is being mixed up with some other documents. Thank you,” she said.

“No, we have to get a separate box to keep the Quran in … and probably get a Muslim to serve it to me because we perform ablution before touching it. I see that it has been mixed up with some other documents. Thank you,” she added.

However, the PAC Chairperson rejected the request, stating that all religious texts are treated equally as instruments for oath-taking.

“We place all the Bibles and Qurans on the table. When you come… you pick one. They are treated as instruments of work and used as such,” she said.

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Speaking up for the first time after the incident, which sparked public debate, Ansah said separating the Bible and the Quran into different boxes could help address concerns raised about respect for religious practices during PAC proceedings.

“We have to because it's a concern, and sometimes we all learn. The public accounts committee is not there to champion any religion or to downplay any religion, and so if she feels that we do not need to mix the Quran with the Bible, then we have to find ways of correcting it,” he said.

He added that the committee’s role is strictly for accountability and not religious practice, stressing that the books are only used as instruments for swearing oaths.

“I mean, all it takes is to have two boxes, put the Bible here and put the Quran here,” he noted.

He further explained that oath-taking at PAC does not involve reading the religious texts.

“They are all instruments of oath. We are not there to read the Quran. We are not there to read the Bible. We are there to take the oath but the lady has now exposed us to something that is of worry to her faith,” he stated.

He added that the matter could be addressed with further consultation and review.

“The next time we sit, we are going to see that. But we also have to find out from other religious people to see if indeed it's against the faith,” he said.

“This is a non-issue. I feel that if the lady feels that we ought to separate it, all we need is two boxes,” he added.

MAG/VPO

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