The Member of Parliament for Salaga, Zuwera Ibrahimah Mohammed, has accused Bosome Freho MP, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, of allegedly peddling falsehoods against the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, following the ministry’s refusal to grant a request for an exemption that would have allowed NPP Second Vice Chairman, Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, to continue using his service passport.

Speaking at a press conference organised by the Majority Caucus to respond to allegations by the Minority that funds used to evacuate 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa remain unaccounted for, the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee alleged that the persistent attacks on the minister could be linked to the rejected passport request.

According to her, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh and Nana B allegedly exerted undue pressure on the minister to disregard President John Dramani Mahama’s directive requiring former office holders to surrender their diplomatic and service passports.

She alleged that the two attempted to compel the minister to create a special exemption for Nana B to continue using his service passport, despite the presidential directive.

Madam Zuwera insisted that the minister’s refusal to grant the request demonstrated his commitment to upholding the president’s directive.

She further argued that Nana B, who previously served as the NPP National Youth Organiser and Board Chairman of the National Food Buffer Stock Company, did not qualify for a service passport based on those positions.

The Salaga MP suggested that the minister’s refusal to grant the alleged request could explain the criticism directed at him.

“The Minister’s strict compliance with the presidential directive and refusal to be corrupted must clearly be the reason for the consistent baseless, unwarranted personal attacks and character assassination cloaked as jaundiced parliamentary oversight,” she alleged.

Her comments come amid growing political exchanges between the Majority and Minority caucuses over the evacuation of 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa and questions surrounding the expenditure incurred during the exercise.

The Minority has raised concerns about funds used for the evacuation, alleging that some of the money remains unaccounted for while the Majority has mounted a defence of the government’s handling of the exercise.

The allegations concerning the passport request and the motives behind the criticism of the Foreign Affairs Minister have not been independently established.