Akosua Manu, an aide to New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has called for an independent audit of the GH¢49.7 million spent on Ghana’s evacuation exercise in South Africa, citing concerns over alleged discrepancies in payment records and flight documentation.
Ms Manu, who serves as Dr Bawumia’s Advisor on Gender, Children and Social Protection, said the controversy surrounding the issuance of service passports should not distract from questions about the expenditure of public funds.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, October 13, she questioned the focus on allegations involving Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, arguing that the financial concerns surrounding the evacuation exercise required independent scrutiny.
“This is an insult to the intelligence of Ghanaians!” she wrote, insisting that the passport controversy did not address questions about the millions of cedis whose expenditure had been challenged.
Ms Manu called for a detailed examination of the payment registers, alleged ghost names and gaps in flight records associated with the exercise to establish whether the funds were properly accounted for.
“If there is nothing to hide, an independent audit should be welcomed,” she said, urging authorities to prioritise documentary evidence and accountability over political exchanges.
Her comments come amid a political dispute over Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa’s handling of a request for a service passport by Nana Boakye.
The Majority on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee has defended the Minister against what it describes as a campaign of character assassination by the Committee’s Deputy Ranking Member, Nana Asafo-Ayeh.
The Majority has linked the criticism of Mr Ablakwa to his refusal to grant Nana Boakye a service passport, citing his compliance with a presidential directive requiring holders of diplomatic and service passports to return them.
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Salaga South MP Zuwera Ibrahimah Mohammed said the Minister’s refusal to make an exception to the directive demonstrated his commitment to the rules governing the issuance of such passports.
However, Ms Manu maintains that the passport dispute is separate from the questions surrounding the evacuation expenditure and should not take precedence over efforts to establish how the public funds were used.
She is calling for the payment records and flight documentation to be scrutinised independently to determine whether the expenditure was properly accounted for.
