Passport scandal: Minority is exercising oversight, not targeting Ablakwa – Aaron Asiedu

A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Communications Team, Aaron Asiedu-Antwi, has dismissed claims that the Minority is deliberately targeting Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over the alleged irregularities in the issuance of Ghanaian diplomatic passports.

He said the Minority is exercising its constitutional oversight responsibility by demanding accountability from the minister and his ministry.

Speaking on Accra-based Channel One TV's Breakfast Daily programme on Tuesday, November 10, Asiedu-Antwi argued that the minister should not be shielded from scrutiny because of his political position.

“If there are other countries entering Ghana, the first point of call will be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is the eye of the Republic,” he said.

The NPP communicator drew a comparison with Ablakwa's conduct while in opposition, arguing that the minister had previously questioned the actions of the Akufo-Addo administration as part of his parliamentary oversight duties.

He said it would be inconsistent to accuse the NPP of targeting Ablakwa simply because the party is now demanding answers from him over matters relating to his ministry.

The NPP communicator also referred to President John Dramani Mahama's Code of Conduct for Ministers, which he said places individual responsibility on ministers for the actions of their departments and agencies, whether or not they had prior knowledge of those actions.

He cited the document's provision that a minister is individually accountable to the President and Parliament for his or her own actions and those of the ministry's departments and agencies.

His comments come amid controversy over allegations that some individuals paid money to acquire Ghanaian diplomatic passports without meeting the requirements for holding them.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor has since announced investigations into alleged irregularities surrounding the issuance of the passports.