Bosome Freho MP petitions Bagbin over Ablakwa’s UNGA trip snub

Member of Parliament for Bosome Freho and Deputy Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, has formally lodged a complaint with the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, over what he describes as an “unfortunate and embarrassing” incident surrounding Ghana’s parliamentary delegation to the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

In a letter dated October 6, 2025, the Bosome Freho MP accused the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who also serves as MP for North Tongu, of sidelining him from the delegation at the last minute, an act he claims undermines parliamentary conventions and risks sowing division within the House.

According to the petition, by long-standing convention, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee are customarily included in Ghana’s delegation to the UNGA. With the Ranking Member unavailable, Asafo-Adjei Ayeh said he was designated to represent the Minority in his capacity as Deputy Ranking Member.

He explained that after receiving his travel ticket on September 18 and being assured that his Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) would be handed to him at Kotoka International Airport, he was later informed at the check-in counter on the day of departure (September 22) that his ticket had been withdrawn.

“The Chairman and Clerk subsequently reached out to the Minister for Foreign Affairs for clarification. Regrettably, the Minister’s Personal Assistant explained that the Ministry could only sponsor two participants, the Chairman and the Clerk; hence my exclusion,” the MP noted in the letter.

Describing the turn of events as both “embarrassing” and damaging to the image of Parliament, Asafo-Adjei Ayeh criticised the lack of prior communication, stressing that the decision to withdraw his ticket a day before departure could have been handled more professionally.

“This unfortunate and embarrassing development could have been avoided had the Minister or the Ministry communicated their decision at least a day earlier,” he wrote. “This incident has brought the name of Parliament into disrepute and risks fostering unnecessary acrimony among Members of Parliament.”

The Bosome Freho legislator is therefore urging the Speaker to intervene and take the necessary steps to prevent similar incidents in the future. He argued that protecting the dignity and integrity of Parliament requires that MPs not be subjected to avoidable embarrassment in the discharge of their official duties.

“I respectfully petition Your Rt. Hon. Speakership to take due notice of this matter and to initiate the appropriate steps to prevent a recurrence of such incidents in the future,” he appealed.

As of the time of filing this report, the Office of the Speaker and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not publicly responded to the petition.