Receiving ECOWAS deportees from US not wrong, they have 90-day entry right — Majority Leader

Majority Leader in Parliament and MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga

Majority Leader in Parliament and MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga has defended Ghana’s contentious third-party deportation arrangement with the United States.

The deal, which allows Ghana to receive and detain West African nationals deported from the US under President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, has drawn criticism from the Minority caucus and sections of the public.

Critics argue that the agreement violates Article 75(2) of the 1992 Constitution since it was not ratified by Parliament.

However, speaking on the floor of Parliament on Friday, October 24, the Majority Leader argued that the agreement does not breach any law because that it falls within the framework of the ECOWAS protocol on free movement.

“I definitely know that every citizen of ECOWAS is entitled to sit in an aircraft and to disembark in Ghana. Every ECOWAS citizen can fly from the US and has a right to enter Ghana and remain for up to 90 days,” he stated.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmaker stressed that such an arrangement is therefore not unusual or unlawful, since it aligns with existing regional mobility rights.

“So, any agreement that we will receive you when you arrive in Ghana is a natural consequence of the right of that ECOWAS citizen to decide that they want to disembark in Ghana from the United States. So I don’t think there’s a problem at all,” he said.

Meanwhile, pressure group Democracy Hub has filed a suit at the Supreme Court challenging what it describes as a secret and unconstitutional deportation arrangement between Ghana and the United States government.

In the action filed on Monday, October 13, against the Attorney General and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the group is seeking 28 reliefs, including a declaration that the MoU is unconstitutional, null, and void; an injunction to halt further deportations under the deal; and an order restraining the government from detaining civilians in military facilities.