Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has told Parliament that Ghana did not ask for a cent before accepting US West African deportees
According to him, Ghana did not ask the United States for any money or material support in connection with its decision to receive some third-party deportees.
He revealed that Ghana accepted the West African nationals based on humanitarian and Pan-African reasons.
Addressing the House on November 19, 2025, Ablakwa stated, “We are Pan-Africanists and these are our fellow West Africans who are in distress of being detained, being treated shabbily without dignity, and we cannot look on as Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana,” he said.
“We are saying that Ghana is your home, and you can come here.
“In any case, under the ECOWAS protocols, West African nationals do not need visas to travel, and in the spirit of regional integration, they can enter Ghana without visas and stay here for at least 90 days. So, Mr Speaker, this decision we made was purely on humanitarian grounds and Pan-African grounds, and we did not ask for a cent from Trump’s America,” he stressed.
Ablakwa further assured, “Mr Speaker, I wish to assure this House that in all matters involving the admission of persons under special circumstances, the requisite security assessments and inter-agency clearances are undertaken by competent authorities.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs proceeds only on the express directives of the President, the collective advice of these agencies, and in full compliance with the procedures governing such engagements,” he said.
Ablakwa further touched on Ghana’s long history of offering refuge on humanitarian grounds, citing refugees from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Côte d’Ivoire and others over the years.
“Ghana has, over the decades, maintained our enviable track record as a bastion of peace and stability despite our friendly and humanitarian posture, which is a vindication of the thorough background checks, security assessments, and safety protocols we have enforced over the years.
“The ministry continues to work closely with the relevant national security and immigration agencies to ensure that all individuals admitted under such arrangements are handled in strict accordance with established procedures and that Ghana’s security and public safety are upheld at all times,” he added.
In related news, A video has gone viral of Immigration officers forcibly dragging a Sierra Leonean woman who was part of the 20 West African nationals deported from the US.
In the viral video shared on X, immigration officials were seen dragging a woman on the floor out of a hotel in Ogbojo, Accra.
Reports suggest the incident happened at the Vicsem Hotel in Ogbojo, a suburb of Accra.
The US deportees were scheduled to be repatriated to their respective countries.
The Sierra Leonean woman who is alleged to be a registered nurse and who lived in the United States for 35 years.
According to the information gathered, the woman pleaded with officials to remain in Ghana as she claimed to have no relatives in Sierra Leone.
The Immigration officers declined her appeal; however, reports suggest she suffered an asthma attack during the confrontation with the officers.
The US deportees were brought into Ghana as part of an arrangement with the United States.