Abanga Fuseini Yakubu, the National Youth Organiser of the New Patriotic Party, has said the party does not hate Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
According to Abanga Fuseini, the NPP is not in to settle scores with Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa but is only demanding accountability in the evacuation exercise of Ghanaians from South Africa.
Yakubu noted that the discrepancies in the reported number of evacuees and the cost of chartering flights raised questions that required documentary evidence.
He further questioned the government’s claim that 1,964 Ghanaians were evacuated from South Africa, indicating that the three chartered flights reportedly used could have transported about 900 people.
Abanga Fuseini challenged the Foreign Affairs Ministry to produce passenger manifests and other documents to establish how the remaining evacuees were transported.
He also questioned the reported $750,000 cost of one chartered flight, arguing that the three flights should have cost a maximum of $900,000 rather than the reported $2.25 million.
“We are not in to settle scores with anybody. We don’t hate Okudzeto Ablakwa. No, but all we are demanding from him is accountability,” he said.
Meanwhile, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has announced plans to stage a nationwide demonstration on November 3 to demand the removal of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over concerns surrounding the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa and the issuance of diplomatic and service passports.
The protest, which has been dubbed “Y3gye Y3 Sika”, seeks to press the government for greater accountability and transparency in expenditure on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa and the issuance of official travel documents.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, the party’s National Youth Organiser, Abanga Fuseini Yakubu, said the demonstration would allow citizens to demand answers from the government over the two controversies.
“The public money belongs to the people, so do the official documents of the Republic. The ministers hold them in trust, and when the trust is abused, it is the people who must rise and demand accountability,” Abanga Fuseini Yakubu stated.
The NPP has accused Ablakwa of wrongdoing in relation to the evacuation arrangements and passport-related matters.
According to the NPP, participants will gather at Villaggio, near the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange and opposite Accra Mall, at 6:00 a.m. before marching to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the demonstration expected to conclude at Jubilee House, the seat of government.
He further called on party supporters, youth organisers, constituency and polling station executives, as well as women’s groups, to turn out in large numbers for the protest.
The NPP’s planned demonstration comes amid continued criticism from the opposition over the government’s handling of the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa and questions surrounding the issuance of diplomatic and service passports.
Beyond the Foreign Affairs Minister, the NPP has also demanded the resignation of the Minister for Youth and Sports over a separate visa-related controversy that preceded the resignation of the National Sports Authority’s chief executive.
Meanwhile, the November 3 demonstration is expected to intensify the party’s calls for accountability over the issues it has raised against the government.
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