The Second Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, has denied seeking special favour from Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to retain his service passport, rejecting the Majority’s explanation for the controversy surrounding the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.
In a press release, Mr Boakye argued that the passport issue was being used to divert attention from questions surrounding the alleged GH¢16.4 million in expenditure requiring further clarification.
The statement responds to the Majority’s claim that Honourable Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, is pursuing “a personal vendetta” against the Foreign Affairs Minister because he refused a request for Mr Boakye to retain his service passport.
“I never requested to retain the passport because doing so would have been unreasonable as a national executive of the opposition party.”
Henry Nana Boakye,
The NPP Second Vice Chairman clarified that he possessed only a service passport, which he surrendered in accordance with the President’s directive published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He explained that his letter to Honourable Ablakwa was intended to notify the embassies holding records of visas in the surrendered passport so that the visas could be transferred to his ordinary passport.
Mr Boakye further explained that the Foreign Affairs Minister personally asked him to arrange for Honourable Asafo-Adjei Ayeh to follow up on the letter. The Bosome Freho MP subsequently visited the Ministry but was informed that the document was not ready. Mr Boakye said he consequently abandoned the process and applied for new visas.
He therefore rejected the suggestion that Honourable Asafo-Adjei Ayeh had sought preferential treatment on his behalf. He described the Majority’s argument as “weak, diversionary, unreasonable and a red herring”, insisting that the passport matter did not justify dismissing the MP’s scrutiny of the evacuation expenditure.
Mr Boakye also questioned the Majority’s presentation of the biographical page of his service passport, which he said is currently in the custody of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
NPP Challenges Majority To Demand Ablakwa’s Accountability
Second Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Henry Nana Boakye also challenged the Majority in Parliament to demand answers from Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over the alleged GH¢16.4 million in expenditure requiring further clarification in connection with the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.
Honourable Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called for an independent audit of the GH¢49.72 million spent on the evacuation at a press conference in Accra on Sunday. He cited alleged discrepancies in payment registers, flight records and allowances provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Minority maintains that GH¢16.42 million requires further clarification and has called for an independent audit, with the findings made public.
“The majority should not take discerning Ghanaians for fools by suggesting that a member of Parliament’s exposition on possible corruption to the tune of GHS16.4 million, based on data submitted by Okudzeto himself, is a personal vendetta.”
Henry Nana Boakye
Mr Boakye argued that political explanations could not substitute for a proper account of public expenditure. He urged the Majority to examine the documents and press the Minister to clarify the “serious inconsistencies” in the records relating to the evacuation operation.
The NPP official also drew attention to Mr Ablakwa’s record in opposition, when he frequently criticised government agencies over accountability. Mr Boakye argued that the Minister should now be prepared to submit to similar scrutiny in his current position rather than allow the controversy to be framed around the motives of his critics.
Invoking President John Dramani Mahama’s commitment to accountability, Mr Boakye called on the governing side to ensure that the evacuation expenditure receives adequate parliamentary scrutiny. He stressed that partisan disagreements should not weaken Parliament’s responsibility to question the use of public funds.
Meanwhile, Mr Ablakwa has reiterated his readiness to account for the GH¢49.72 million spent on evacuating Ghanaians from South Africa. He disclosed that the Ministry responded to the Minority’s Right to Information request with more than 200 pages of documents. He also invited the Auditor-General to conduct a comprehensive audit of evacuation exercises dating back to 2017.
In a related development, the Salaga South MP and Foreign Affairs Committee member, Zuwera Ibrahimah Mohammed accused Bosome Freho MP Asafo-Adjei of pursuing a personal vendetta against Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. She alleged that his criticism stems from the Minister’s refusal to allow NPP Second Vice Chairman Henry Nana Boakye to retain his service passport. Hon Ibrahimah emphasised that the Minister acted lawfully by enforcing the presidential directive requiring former officeholders to surrender their diplomatic and service passports.
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