The Minority in Parliament has called on President John Dramani Mahama to immediately remove Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa from his position as Minister for Foreign Affairs, accusing him of incompetence and failure to manage Ghana’s international relations effectively.
Addressing the media in Accra on Tuesday, January 20, the Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, said Ghana could not continue on its current foreign policy path.
He argued that the national interest, the welfare of Ghanaians, and the country’s international reputation all demanded urgent change at the Foreign Ministry.
Ayeh accused the Foreign Minister of lacking the temperament required to manage complex bilateral relations and claimed he had prioritised public applause over concrete achievements. He said the Minister had demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that he was no longer fit for the role.
“The Minority therefore calls on the President to remove Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa from the Foreign Affairs portfolio immediately and appoint a competent diplomat with proven experience, steady judgment and a genuine commitment to Ghana’s long-term interests over personal political theatre,” he stated.
Ayeh said the Minority has lost confidence in the Foreign Minister’s ability to protect Ghana’s diplomatic and economic interests, particularly in relation to recent developments with the United States.
According to him, the Minority is also demanding urgent public accountability from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs within seven days.
He said the ministry must organise a comprehensive press conference to explain all official communications between Ghana and the United States over the past 18 months concerning migration cooperation, deportation matters, and visa processing.
The Minority is also demanding clear explanations from the ministry on the specific reasons Washington provided for including Ghana on a list of 75 countries affected by visa-related restrictions. In addition, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh said the ministry must outline any strategy it has in place to ensure Ghana’s removal from the list.
He further called for a full accounting of remittance projections and a detailed economic impact assessment of the visa freeze, stressing that the policy could have serious consequences for millions of Ghanaian families who depend on remittances from abroad.
“We demand immediate public accountability. Within seven days, the foreign ministry must hold a comprehensive press conference to address all communications between Ghana and the US regarding migration cooperation, deportation issues, and visa processing over the past 18 months.
“2. Specific reasons given by Washington for including Ghana on the 75-country list. 3. The ministry strategy, if any exists, to ensure Ghana’s removal from that list. 4. Full accounting of remittance projections and economic impact assessment of the visa freeze,” Ayeh stressed.”
In a related development, the Minority in Parliament has also called on President John Dramani Mahama to immediately recall Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Smith, accusing him of unprofessional conduct and of failing to safeguard Ghana’s diplomatic interests.
The Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, said the ambassador’s actions had worsened Ghana’s diplomatic challenges at a time when the country was facing serious international setbacks.
According to him, while Ghana’s diplomatic standing is under strain, the ambassador in Washington has been distracted by what he described as petty political score-settling, rather than focusing on critical diplomatic engagement.
He accused the ambassador of breaching the confidentiality required in consular services and dragging Ghana’s mission in Washington into bipartisan domestic political battles.
Ayeh described the conduct as unprofessional and a clear dereliction of duty, adding that it amounted to yet another case of incompetence within Ghana’s foreign service leadership.
He said the ambassador had failed catastrophically in his responsibilities, particularly at a time when Ghana’s national interests in the United States were hanging in the According to the Minority, the ambassador’s focus on issuing press releases that allegedly breached consular confidentiality had come at the expense of serious diplomatic engagement.
The Minority warned that Ghana could not afford to have ambassadors who prioritise publicity over diplomacy, especially when delicate bilateral relations and the welfare of Ghanaians abroad are at stake.
“While Ghana burns diplomatically, our ambassador to Washington is engaged in petty political score settling, breaching the confidentiality that consular services require, and dragging Ghana’s mission into bipartisan domestic battles. This is not just unprofessional; it is a dereliction of duty and another case of incompetence.
“He has failed catastrophically. Ghana cannot afford ambassadors who prioritise press release breaching confidentiality on consular services over diplomatic engagement when our national interest hangs in the balance.”
