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On May 20, 2024, the Deputy Director of Elections for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mahdi Jibril, claimed that President Akufo-Addo had sworn that the MP for Assin North, Gyakye Quayson should be arrested.
The member of the opposition NDC said this during a panel discussion on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo programme.
Mr Jibril was criticising President Akufo-Addo for granting citizenship to American musician Stevie Wonder while urging the courts to prosecute Mr Quayson, who is currently facing criminal charges for allegedly holding dual citizenship and forging official documents.
“The same President has sworn by heaven and earth that, by all means, the Assin North MP should be arrested. But now, you are granting citizenship to someone who has lived all his life in America, and this is acceptable for you to do. They should give us a break on this issue. The same president has double standards,” he said.
Fact-Check Ghana has verified this claim and presents the findings below.
Claim: “The same President has sworn by heaven and earth that, by all means, the Assin North MP should be arrested.”
Verdict: False
Explanation:
On Wednesday, May 17, 2024, the Supreme Court ordered the removal of Mr Quayson from Parliament. The Court ruled that the Electoral Commission (EC) acted unconstitutionally in allowing him to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections without proof of him renouncing his Canadian Citizenship.
This necessitated a by-election in the Assin North constituency. The EC set Tuesday, June 27, 2023, for the by-election.
Mr Quayson announced his intention to contest the seat again as he insisted that: “I renounced my Canadian citizenship in December 2019 and returned to Ghana to serve you, my people of Assin North. When I declared on my Nomination Forms in October 2020 that l owed no allegiance to any country other than Ghana, that was, indeed, the truth. To date, no one has provided any evidence that I owed allegiance to Canada at the time I filed my nominations and when I was elected and sworn in as your Member of Parliament”.
On Sunday, June 25, 2023, two days before the by-election, President Akufo-Addo went to Assin North to campaign for the NPP’s candidate, Charles Opoku, to be elected.
He pleaded with the people of Assin North to vote for someone who is not entangled in any legal battles, someone who can focus on his parliamentary duties.
“I heard Gyakye Quayson say that even in prison, you people will vote for him. Can he work from jail?
“We vote for people to go to Parliament to work, how can he work from prison? So don’t vote for someone who will end up in jail, vote for someone who can work to improve your lives.
“Please vote for someone who is going to work for you. Not someone who is going to frequent the Appeal Court, Supreme Court and High Court. That is not what we are looking for. So, I came to plead with you that you should vote for an MP who will work with the government to continue the developmental works we are doing in Assin North,” President Akufo-Addo said.
From the above, it is clear that President Akufo-Addo did not swear that the MP for Assin North should be arrested. He rather entreated the people of Assin North to vote for a candidate who was not likely to be imprisoned.
Therefore, the claim by the Deputy Director of Elections for the NDC, Mahdi Jibril, that President Akufo-Addo has sworn that Gyakye Quayson should be arrested is false.
