The Majority Caucus on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has accused Bosome Freho MP Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh of pressuring Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa to allow NPP Second Vice-Chairman Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, to retain a service passport he allegedly did not qualify for.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, 13 October, Salaga South MP Hajia Zuwera Mohammed Ibrahimah alleged that Mr Asafo-Adjei Ayeh and Nana B had sought to persuade the minister to make an exception for Nana B, whose service passport bears the number SS-003454.
She said the minister rejected the request, maintaining that Nana B’s former roles as NPP National Youth Organiser and Board Chairman of the National Food Buffer Stock Company did not qualify him for a service passport.
The caucus linked the alleged request to what it described as persistent personal attacks on Mr Ablakwa by the Bosome Freho MP, arguing that parliamentary oversight should not be used 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.
The caucus said the alleged request followed a directive under the Mahama administration requiring former officeholders to surrender their diplomatic and service passports.
The accusation comes amid a dispute between the Majority and Minority caucuses over the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s handling of the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa.
Mr 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 RTI request.
