Thousands of supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by the party’s youth wing, poured onto the streets of Accra on Tuesday in the ‘Y3gye Y3 Sika’ demonstration, demanding the dismissal and prosecution of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
The protesters, chanting “Y3gye y3 sika” (“We want our money”), are demanding accountability over spending on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa and over the issuance of diplomatic and service passports.
At Jubilee House, the NPP National Youth Organiser, Commander Abanga Fusani Yakubu, presented a petition addressed to President John Dramani Mahama and gave the President 14 days to act.
A sea of red and black
The march began in the early hours at Villaggio, near the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange and opposite the Accra Mall. From there the crowd, swelling as it moved, made its way to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before heading on to Jubilee House.
Dressed mostly in red and black, the demonstrators waved party flags and carried placards reading “Chobo hene Ablakwa, give us our money” and “We need accountability.” Drums, horns and party songs carried the procession through the city.
The crowd was drawn from across the country. Party officials had said residents of North Tongu, Mr Ablakwa’s own constituency, and people displaced by the Akosombo Dam spillage would join the march. Youth organisers, polling station executives, TESCON members and the party’s women’s and Nasara wings had been mobilised in the days leading up to the protest.
The Ghana Police Service had been notified of the demonstration and provided security along the route. The march was peaceful.
Petition delivered at Jubilee House
Addressing the crowd, Commander Yakubu said the turnout showed the depth of public anger over the matter.
“Behind me stand thousands of Ghanaians. Young men and women. Traders, students, workers, the unemployed,” he said. “They have marched peacefully today with one message: Y3gye y3 sika. We want our money accounted for.”
He told the gathering: “We are giving President Mahama 14 days to act; else we will stage another demonstration.”
The petition calls on the President to sack Mr Ablakwa immediately and to direct the Attorney-General and the Office of the Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute him and any official found culpable. It also demands the publication of the original invoices, contracts and proof of payment for all charter flights, the full passenger and beneficiary lists, an independent audit of the evacuation spending, and details of every diplomatic and service passport issued since January 2025.
Copies of the petition were addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, the Attorney-General, the Special Prosecutor and the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.
“This is not the end. It is the beginning,” Commander Yakubu told the marchers. “We will watch. We will wait fourteen days. And if there is no answer, we will be back, peacefully and lawfully, until every cedi is accounted for.”
The money and the passports
At the centre of the protest is the GH¢49.7 million the Foreign Affairs Ministry says it spent to evacuate 1,964 Ghanaians from South Africa. The Minority in Parliament has questioned more than GH¢16.4 million of that sum.
The NPP says documents released by the Minister show each of the three charter flights used cost US$750,000, which it argues is far above the industry rate of no more than US$300,000 per flight. The party also says it found no invoices or contracts supporting about GH¢27 million spent on the charters, and disputes the figure of 1,964 evacuees, saying the three charter flights carried about 900 people.
The second issue is the issuance of diplomatic and service passports. The NPP is calling for every passport issued since January 2025 to be made public and for any wrongly issued passport to be cancelled. The allegations have not been established.
Mr Ablakwa has rejected the claims. He maintains that no money is missing from the evacuation and that all supporting documents and signed sheets are available.
What next
The NPP youth wing says Tuesday’s march is part of a wider campaign for accountability in the management of public funds and official documents. With the 14-day ultimatum now running, party officials say they will return to the streets if the President does not respond.
