Michael Kwesi Aidoo, the Member of Parliament for Oforikrom, has sharply criticized President John Dramani Mahama’s decision to accept a group of West African nationals deported from the United States under a new bilateral agreement.
The lawmaker argues that the President’s action is unlawful and undermines Ghana’s constitution, as it failed to seek parliamentary approval.
Mr Aidoo contends that Ghana should not become a “dumping ground” for individuals deported for criminal offenses or other violations from the countries they were expelled from. Speaking in an interview on Rainbow Radio 92.4FM’s ‘As it is in Ghana’, he stated, “The President’s action confirms the ‘sole ruler’ tag on his neck.”
President Mahama recently announced that Ghana had received the first group of deportees under the new bilateral arrangement with the United States.
During a media engagement at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, the President confirmed that 14 individuals had been flown into the country. He noted that the group included several Nigerian nationals and one Gambian.
Commenting on the development, MP Aidoo asserted that Ghana, as a sovereign state, should not allow other nations to undermine its authority by using it as a place to offload deportees.
“This is sad because Ghana is a sovereign nation, but what the President has done shows that Ghana is a dumping ground for deported individuals,” he said. He further drew a parallel to a previous incident, referencing the 2016 acceptance of two Guantanamo Bay detainees, commonly known as the “Gitmo 2,” during the President’s first term.
In an interview with Sir Richie, the MP questioned why the deported Nigerians were not sent directly to their home country. “Why should we be the ones to accept them in Ghana?” he asked.
“We should not allow these powerful countries to take advantage of us and dump their deported individuals here. Nigeria and Gambia had their representatives in America, so why did they not go to these representatives to verify if they were their nationals but decided to bring them to Ghana? These are the questions we demand answers to. This is purely a neo-colonial activity with America imposing this on us. We are a sovereign state, and we should not allow that to happen.”
Michael Aidoo emphasised that President Mahama’s action, taken through an executive decision, fails to respect Article 75 of the constitution, which mandates that the
President seek parliamentary approval for treaties and other bilateral agreements.
He supported his claims by citing a number of key legal precedents.
He mentioned the 2016 case of John Akparibo Ndebugri v Attorney General, which established that parliamentary approval is required for the termination of agreements that were initially ratified by Parliament.
Another case is the 2020 decision in Yaw Brogya Gyamfi v The Attorney General, which addressed the unconstitutional nature of the Executive signing an agreement before parliamentary ratification, as well as the 2016 Guantanamo Bay detainee case, which affirmed the need for parliamentary oversight in accepting foreign nationals into Ghana.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
