The release announcing the extension of the contract of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Christian Tetteh Yohuno, is no farce – Jubilee House is granting that contract extension.
However, even though the detractors of the Mahama government are off to the races with the accusation that the contract extension for Yohuno is a complete departure from the Administration’s earlier position on contract extensions for public servants, it turns out that the Mahama Jubilee House reluctantly buckled to pressure from lobbyists within the Police service.
And the lobbyists were led by none other than the person next in line to be IGP – COP Lydia Yaako-Donkor, Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID). It is already in the public domain that President Mahama only acted on the request and advice of the Police Council. What is now emerging is that COP Yaako-Donkor lobbied the hardest for the extension.
In short, IGP Christian Tetteh Yohuno’s most likely successor button-holed the Jubilee House and forced the seat of government to extend Yohuno’s contract for two more years.
She is said to have done this with the backing of Chief Inspector Angel Lolo (Esq.), representatives of the junior ranks of the Ghana Police Service on the Police Council.
And because of their lobby IGP Tetteh Yohuno will now stay on till 2027, instead of retire in December 2025.
This revelation is interesting because within the Ghana Police Service COP Yaako-Donkor is seen as the natural successor in the lineage of Ghana’s IGPs. In fact, within the service, many already regard her as the first ever female deputy IGP even though no deputy IGP has been formally named.
Affable, beautiful and extremely charming, she is very popular among her peers and has the uncommon feat as one of only six female Police Commissioners in the history of the Ghana Police Service.
In the pack of likely successors to Yohunu there are five, starting with COP Yaako – Donkor and including, Sebastian Atsu Wemegah, Director-General of Information & Communication Technology (ICT), and COP Mohammed Fuseini Suraji, Director-General of the National Patrol Department (NPD) under the Police Management Board.
The rest are, COP Vance Baba Gariba, Director-General, Operations and COP Daniel Kwame Afriyie, Director General Private Security Organisations (PSO).
However, for many, COP Yaako-Donkor’s strong legal background and her reputation as a tough muscle on crime has naturally positioned her as the best to succeed IGP Yohunu, which is why even though the current IGP does not officially have a deputy, she is perceived as the de-facto deputy IGP.
This being the case, her voice in the campaign for Christian Tetteh Yohunu to have his contract extended for two more years really carried and ultimately proved crucial in persuading Jubilee House, it is emerging.
But COP Yaako-Donkor’s lobby in favor of the person that she is in pole position to succeed was not only informed by her personal belief in IGP Yohuno. Throughout the Police service, Yohuno enjoys a lot of support.
Among junior ranks, in particular, who are represented on the Police Council by Chief Inspector Angel Lolo, the overwhelming sentiment is that Christian Tetteh Yohuno Is a salvationist IGP, picking and reorganizing the pieces after his immediate predecessor, George Akuffo-Dampare left the Police service in a broken form.
Overwhelmingly, within the Police service, the verdict is that immediate past IGP, Dr. Akufo-Dampare, left behind a chaotic police service, with deep divisions. IGP Dampare is particularly disliked over allegations that he did not improve the welfare of police personnel, especially the junior rank officers.
This is why when he was relieved of his post, there were spontaneous jubilations in barracks across the country.
It would be recalled that not too long after his appointment to the Police Council as the representative of the junior ranks, Chief Inspector Lolo (Esq) had undertaken a nationwide tour of the so called 25 police regions around the country to engage the junior ranks over their welfare concerns.
In the course of the tour, he collected opinions that included positive review of IGP Tetteh Yohuno’s elevation to the high office of Chief Constable. In fact, that tour endeared Yohuno to the junior ranks more because it was a sign to them that they finally have an IGP who is determined to pursue their welfare.
That same goodwill among the junior ranks is what is fuelling the support for the extension of his days in office.
Also, IGP Yohuno is perceived as richly experienced, potentially transformational, but seriously did not have time on his side until the contract extension was granted.
A man who served as deputy IGP under Akufo-Addo, Yohuno became IGP in December 2025, but was already pushing 60 at the time of his appointment. This meant that by December 2025, he would have to retire, a development that would have meant that he was only in office for less than 9 months. Many feel 9 months is not fair enough time for anyone to effect transformational change.
For many, the tough muscle that IGP Yohuno has already been showing against illegal mining, also known as galamsey, is a compelling enough reason to give him more time to put the anti galamsey fight on a winsome footing for the country.
Meanwhile, in response to the critics of President John Mahama who say that he has gone contrary to his own government’s earlier position on contract extensions for public service officers, Solomon Owusu, the Director of Communications for the United Party (UP) has issued a slamming dismissal.
On Accra-based TV3’s New Day discussion programme on Wednesday November 26, 2025, he points out that President Mahama’s decision is in conformity with Article 199 (4) which allows the president to grant contract extensions to public servants after retirement.
A vociferous critic, Mr. Owusu also dismissed the argument that president Mahama’s agreement with the idea of contract extension for the IGP smacks of hypocrisy since it supposedly contradicts his government’s earlier position that it would entertain contract extensions.
He points out that in the 2nd April, 2025 letter, the presidency announced that the contract extension for public servants was suspended and not cancelled.
“He (Dr. Calistus Mahama) was very smart. He did not tie the administration to anything to the effect that contract extensions are cancelled; he said it is suspended!” Solomon Owusu pointed out.
For clarity, this is exactly what the letter said: “The grant of post-retirement contract appointments to retired public service staff has been suspended with immediate effect.”
