The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is staging a nationwide demonstration on Tuesday, November 3, to demand the removal of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa over controversies surrounding a recent evacuation exercise and the issuance of diplomatic and service passports.
The protest, dubbed “Y3gye y3 sika”, is scheduled to begin at 6:00 a.m. at Villaggio, near the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange and opposite Accra Mall.
Demonstrators are expected to march from the starting point to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before proceeding to Jubilee House, where the party intends to press its demands for accountability.
The NPP announced the protest at a press conference on October 29, with its National Youth Organiser, Abanga Fuseini Yakubu, urging party supporters and other Ghanaians to participate.
Yakubu said the demonstration was intended to demand answers over the management of public funds and the handling of official government documents.
“The public money belongs to the people, so do the official documents of the Republic. The ministers hold them in trust, and when the trust is abused, it is the people who must rise and demand accountability,” he said.
The opposition party has accused Ablakwa of wrongdoing in relation to the two controversies, although the allegations have not been established and remain subject to investigation.
It wants the Attorney-General and the Office of the Special Prosecutor to investigate the matters and prosecute the minister and any other officials found culpable.
The party is also demanding Ablakwa’s immediate dismissal, insisting that the government must account for the expenditure on the evacuation exercise and explain the circumstances surrounding the issuance of diplomatic and service passports.
Ahead of the protest, Yakubu called on youth organisers, constituency and polling station executives, women’s groups and other party supporters to mobilise.
He urged demonstrators to remain peaceful throughout the exercise, warning against actions that could result in disorder.
“Our strength is in our numbers and our discipline, never in disorder,” he said.
