Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has officially handed over the Ministry of Defence to Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, ending his tenure as acting Defence Minister.

Dr Ato Forson took over the Defence Ministry following the death of former Defence Minister Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah in a military helicopter crash on August 6, 2025. Eight people died in the crash near Adansi Akrofuom in the Ashanti Region.

He managed the Defence Ministry alongside his substantive role as Finance Minister until President John Dramani Mahama appointed Kenneth Gilbert Adjei as the new Defence Minister in a reshuffle announced on August 7, 2026.

In a post on X, Dr Ato Forson thanked the ministry and said he was leaving with a sense of fulfilment.

“I leave this Ministry with deep gratitude, a profound sense of honour and the satisfaction of duty fulfilled,” he said.

Kenneth Gilbert Adjei is returning to the Defence Ministry, having previously served as Deputy Defence Minister from 2015 to 2017 under President Mahama’s first administration.

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Before his new appointment, he was the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, a position he had held since February 2025.

As part of the reshuffle, Ahmed Ibrahim has been appointed Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, while Brogya Genfi has been appointed Deputy Defence Minister.

I have just formally handed over the stewardship of the Ministry of Defence to Hon. Kenneth Gilbert Adjei.

I leave this Ministry with deep gratitude, a profound sense of honour and the satisfaction of duty fulfilled. pic.twitter.com/67j5KBi62b

— Cassiel Ato Forson (PhD) (@Cassielforson) August 14, 2026