"You Can't Evade Accountability": Dominic Nitiwul Warns Okudzeto Ablakwa
- Parliament's Committee on Assurances Chairman criticised Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for skipping a scheduled committee hearing
- Nitiwul revealed that Ablakwa failed to respond to messages sent by himself, his ranking member, and his deputy ranking member
- The committee chairman warned that ministers who refuse accountability have no place serving the people of Ghana
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The Chairman of Parliament's Committee on Assurances, Dominic Nitiwul, has publicly rebuked Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa after he failed to appear before the committee for a scheduled accountability hearing, ignoring repeated attempts to reach him.
In a report by GhanaWeb, Nitiwul disclosed that neither the minister nor his office responded to communications from committee staff or its leadership ahead of the session.
Source: Facebook
"And then the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was scheduled to come yesterday, did not appear, did not respond to the clerks, did not respond to Parliament. Messages were sent by me, messages were sent by my ranking, messages were sent by the deputy ranking; he did not bother to respond," Nitiwul stated.
Ablakwa ordered to send team
Dominic Nitiwul directed that a representative from the minister's office appear before the committee the next day, making clear that accountability to Parliament is not optional for public officeholders.
"We would expect that their team appears here tomorrow. As I said, you can't be running away from accountability. Once you agree to serve the people of Ghana as a minister, you can't, and we will not allow you to run away from accountability," Nitiwul emphasised.
Nitiwul went further, arguing that ministers who disregard parliamentary summons demonstrate a fundamental disrespect for the citizens they were appointed to serve.
"Let them give respect to the people of Ghana; otherwise, they have no place, they have no reason to be where they are. If you are lucky enough to be a minister out of 33 million Ghanaians, you must show respect to the people who represent the people of Ghana, and Parliament," he said.
The Committee on Assurances is responsible for tracking and verifying commitments made by ministers and government officials on the floor of Parliament, making Ablakwa's absence particularly significant given the committee's mandate to enforce ministerial accountability.
Minority demands Attorney General's resignation
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the Minority in Parliament had called for the resignation or dismissal of the Attorney General over the release of GH¢350m from the Contingency Fund.
Deputy Minority Leader Patricia Appiagyei said the withdrawal violated legal procedure because garnishee proceedings against the fund are still ongoing.
President John Dramani Mahama ordered the release of the funds to support victims of the June 29 Accra floods, which left 13 dead and many displaced.
Source: YEN.com.gh
