Sam Pee Yalley, a former ambassador to India under the previous John Mahama administration, claims that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is in violation of the constitution because he also possesses a British passport in addition to his Ghanaian one.
Sam Pee Yalley stated that records indicate the vice president holds dual citizenship and did not renounce the British one prior to taking office as vice president of Ghana in 2017 to the present during a discussion on Radio XYZ on Thursday, June 8, 2023.
“Now that the Supreme Court has decided that a person who holds dual citizenship cannot be a member of parliament, Bawumia’s record at the Bank of Ghana in London indicates that he is a British citizen. He was a British citizen way back in 2009 before ex-President Kufuor brought him to Ghana,” the former ambassador is quoted to have said.
He claims that Dr. Bawumia claimed to be a British citizen in numerous documents while serving as the director of the international bank, but there is no evidence that he did so prior to 2017.
Sam Pee Yalley is therefore urging the launch of legal proceedings against Bawumia in a manner similar to how James Gyakye Quayson was treated.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Assin North’s election has been declared invalid by the Supreme Court because, at the time he submitted his nomination to the Electoral Commission to run for the position, he had not completely renounced his Canadian citizenship.
The EC has set a by-election for the Assin North constituency for June 27, 2023 in response to the Supreme Court’s decision.
Dual citizenship is not prohibited, but in Ghana, you must renounce your citizenship from the other country before you can hold certain sensitive positions.
The Ghanaian Constitution reserves the following positions solely for mono citizens:
a. Ambassador or High Commissioner;
b. Secretary to the Cabinet;
c. Chief of Defence Staff or any Service Chief;
d. Inspector–General of Police;
e. Commissioner, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service;
f. Director of Immigration Service;
g. Any office specified by an Act of Parliament;
h. President and Vice President.
