The debate over former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s continued absence from Ghana has taken a fresh turn, with a member of the New Patriotic Party’s communications team pushing back firmly against suggestions that the party itself is responsible for bringing him home.
Speaking on Joy Prime’s Prime Insight programme, Atick Yakubu argued that securing Ofori-Atta’s return falls squarely on the government and relevant state institutions — not the NPP.
According to Yakubu, any effort to bring the former minister back to face investigations or possible prosecution should run through proper legal channels, including the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Attorney General’s Department. His central argument was straightforward: as a political party, the NPP holds no constitutional or legal mandate to compel a private citizen — even a former government official — to return to the country.
Yakubu’s comments arrive amid intensifying political back-and-forth over Ofori-Atta’s whereabouts. Earlier this week, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga suggested that Ghanaians should hold the NPP accountable if Ofori-Atta fails to return and answer questions related to allegations of financial misconduct — a position that has drawn sharp pushback from within the party.
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The NPP has consistently rejected that framing. National Communications Director Richard Ahiagbah recently dismissed calls for the party to “produce” Ofori-Atta as misplaced, arguing that the matter should be handled through legal and diplomatic processes rather than political pressure or public demands directed at the opposition.
The dispute underscores a broader tension in Ghana’s political discourse: how accountability for a former official’s actions should be pursued, and who bears responsibility when that individual remains outside the country’s jurisdiction. As authorities continue pursuing Ofori-Atta through formal judicial mechanisms, the question of whether political pressure on the NPP is appropriate — or even relevant — looks set to remain a contentious issue in the weeks ahead.