Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga has rejected claims by the Minority in Parliament that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ghana and the United States on the deportation of some West African nationals required parliamentary ratification.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Mr. Ayariga maintained that the agreement was lawful and backed by sound legal counsel.
“The issue of the need for parliamentary ratification of the agreement with the United States to receive ECOWAS citizens being repatriated back to the sub-region has been widely debated. If the appropriate legal advice to this house is that we should ratify it, we will consider so,” he explained.
He stressed that the government’s decision to proceed with the MoU was in the national interest, particularly as it led to the lifting of US visa restrictions previously imposed on Ghana.
“I can say with authority that the Majority approves of the arrangement and highly commends the government for negotiating the removal of the US visa restrictions on Ghanaians. Given our business and social ties to America, these restrictions were going to be extremely burdensome to many Ghanaian businesses and families,” Mr. Ayariga said.
The Minority, however, has questioned the constitutionality of the deal, arguing that any international agreement affecting Ghana’s foreign relations must be submitted to Parliament for approval.
Meanwhile, civil society group Democracy Hub has filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court, seeking judicial clarification on the legality of the deportation MoU.
The agreement, signed earlier this year, forms part of a broader diplomatic framework between Ghana and the US aimed at facilitating the **return of undocumented West African migrants** from the United States to their respective home countries.
Source: Adomonline
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