Majority accuses Minority of ‘personal attacks’ on Ablakwa over refusal to grant Nana B service passport

The Majority Caucus on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has accused the Minority of pursuing personal interests in its criticism of Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.

The caucus alleges that the Minority’s persistent claims against the Minister are linked to his refusal to grant NPP Second Vice-Chairman, Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, a service passport.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, October 13, Salaga South MP Hajia Zuwera Mohammed Ibrahimah said the dispute stemmed from an alleged attempt by Bosome Freho MP Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh and Nana B to persuade Ablakwa to make an exception for the NPP official.

She said the minister rejected the request, maintaining that Nana B’s previous positions as NPP National Youth Organiser and Board Chairman of the National Food Buffer Stock Company did not qualify him for a service passport.

“The minister's strict compliance with the Presidential Directive, and refusal to be corrupted, must clearly be the reason for the consistent baseless unwarranted personal attacks and character assassination, clothed as Parliamentary Oversight,” the she said on Tuesday, October 13.

The passport in question bears the number SS-003454.

The Majority Caucus argued that the repeated personal attacks on the minister by Asafo-Adjei Ayeh is connected to the alleged lobbying for Nana B.

She warned against the use of parliamentary oversight to pursue personal interests.

“Friends from the media, we all seek favours from people, but we seek reasonable favours. We seek favours within the law. There is the legal saying that he that comes with equity must come with clean hands,” Hajia Ibrahimah said.

According to the caucus, the alleged request followed a directive under the Mahama administration requiring former officeholders to surrender their diplomatic and service passports.

The accusations come amid a disagreement between the Majority and Minority over the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s handling of the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.

Asafo-Adjei Ayeh has questioned the reported GH¢49.72 million expenditure on the exercise, citing alleged discrepancies in documents the Ministry provided in response to his Right to Information (RTI) request.