The Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, is urging Ghanaians not to give the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) an audience when they come to them in the lead up to the 2028 general elections.
He avers the party is not trustworthy and cannot be handed power again, saying members of the NPP do not have principles.
According to him, until the Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, brings Ken Ofori-Atta into the country like he promised in Parliament some time ago, they cannot be trusted as a party worthy of power.
The comments follow Afenyo-Markin’s remarks on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, that the Government has lost control and failed in implementing its flagship programmes such as the 24-Hour economy to provide jobs for the youth.
This provoked the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, who questioned Afenyo-Markin’s principles, having promised earlier to produce the former Finance Minister but failed to do so.
He maintained that the Effutu lawmaker has no locus to talk about unemployment when they had power for eight years, and expect the a barely 18-month-old administration to solve all unemployment problems in the country.
“Ghanaians should demand from the NPP that if they don’t produce Ken Ofori-Atta in this country, they should never come back to ask for power again. We should have principles.
“You promised us that you would bring Ken Ofori-Atta. Now we’re told that he’s obtained permanent residence in the U.S.; a former Finance Minister running away from his country,” Ayariga jabbed.
READ ALSO: ‘Where is Ken Ofori-Atta?’ – Mahama Ayariga blasts Afenyo-Markin for failing to deliver promise
Meanwhile, a US Immigration court has granted permanent residency to Mr. Ofori-Atta, marking a significant victory for him amid an ongoing legal hurdle with Ghanaian authorities.
This follows an application by the former Minister to US authorities to grant him permanent residency while Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), had declared him a fugitive from justice.
The decision, delivered on Monday, June 16, 2026, during proceedings in which the court considered Ofori-Atta’s I-485 petition, is a key step in the process of acquiring permanent resident status in the United States.
Ofori-Atta’s lawyer, Frank Davies, says the court’s decision was highly influenced by the criminal investigations and charges currently facing the former Minister in Ghana.
He indicates that the judge reportedly expressed concerns about some of the circumstances linked to the actions of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), where he declared him a fugitive from justice.
During the hearing, attention was drawn to the OSP’s earlier declaration of Mr Ofori-Atta as a fugitive from justice.
According to Davies, the court reportedly heard that the declaration was made while the former minister was receiving medical treatment in the United States and at a time when his legal representatives were still engaging with investigators in Ghana.
Evidence was also presented by a witness familiar with international policing and Interpol procedures, who reportedly questioned aspects of the process adopted by the Ghanaian authorities in pursuing the matter.
Ofori-Atta remains the subject of multiple criminal charges in Ghana arising from decisions taken during his tenure as Finance Minister.
Although the ruling does not have any bearing on his criminal proceedings pending in Ghana, legal pundits believe the Attorney-General’s quest to secure his extradition from the US to face charges will be difficult.
The substantive criminal matters against the former minister remain under the jurisdiction of Ghana’s courts and are expected to proceed in accordance with Ghanaian law.
Ken Ofori-Atta is facing multiple allegations linked to financial irregularities, including claims that a contract awarded to Strategic Mobilisation Limited resulted in a loss of over GH¢1.4 billion to the state.
He is also under investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), which in June 2025 initiated steps for an INTERPOL Red Notice after he reportedly failed to respond to several invitations for questioning. The notice was later deleted by INTERPOL.
