Hot SourceThe Minority in Parliament has accused Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa of misrepresenting the scale of the refugee crisis following violent clashes in Ghana’s Savannah Region, insisting that thousands of displaced citizens remain stranded in Côte d’Ivoire.
In a press statement issued on 19 September 2025, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, Member of Parliament for Bosome-Freho, said the Minister’s claim that about 8,000 of the estimated 13,000 Ghanaian refugees had returned home was “at odds with facts on the ground.”
According to the Minority, a multisectoral rapid assessment—conducted jointly by the government of Ghana and international agencies including UNHCR, IOM, WFP, WHO, FAO, World Vision and Catholic Relief Service—found that the conflict in Gbeyinri, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District, affected roughly 48,000 people. Around 13,000 fled to Côte d’Ivoire, while others crossed into Burkina Faso.
“The Minister’s assertion that 8,000 refugees are back in Ghana sharply contrasts with independent assessments,” the statement read. It noted that Vonkoro alone still hosts about 5,000 Ghanaian refugees, with thousands more scattered across Dagbekura, Gbotogbo, Tchormiikura, Masiiten and other communities.
The Minority cited the Savanna Regional Minister’s own observation that, while peace is “gradually returning,” reintegration will “take time due to deep mistrust among affected populations.”
During the fact-finding mission to Vonkoro on 18 September, Asafo-Adjei Ayeh met refugee leaders including Darai Anwile Felix and Kawuro Kwasi David. They expressed gratitude to the Ivorian government for providing security and basic amenities but criticised the lack of follow-up by Ghanaian officials since the Foreign Minister’s brief visit.
Crucially, camp leaders confirmed that their return depends on guarantees of safety from Yagbonwura Bikunuto Jewu Soale I, the King of the Gonja Traditional Area, and President John Dramani Mahama.
“Our people will not move without assurances that calm has truly been restored,” the leaders said, dismissing reports of mass returns as “misleading.”
The Minority delegation donated CFA 2 million to assist the displaced families and pledged to support long-term peace efforts. But the statement also laid blame on the government in Accra, accusing the Mahama administration of failing to anticipate the Gbeyinri conflict and prevent the “avoidable displacement” of thousands of Ghanaians now living in difficult conditions.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry has yet to respond to the Minority’s allegations. Meanwhile, refugees in Vonkoro maintain that only firm commitments from both traditional and national authorities will convince them to leave the relative safety of Côte d’Ivoire and return to Ghana.
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