A former Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has dismissed the intense political debate surrounding Ghana’s agreement to accept US deportees, terming the entire controversy as “political bickering rather than really actual law.”
Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on September 26, 2025, Fuseini weighed in on the Minority’s demand for parliamentary scrutiny of the agreement between the Government of Ghana and the United States of America (USA) regarding the transfer of West African nationals who have overstayed their visas in the US.
Fuseini strongly argued that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) governing the arrangement does not require ratification by the Parliament, rendering the Minority’s position “absurd.”
“This (MoU) is not within the context of the Vienna Convention and within Article 75 of our constitution,” the former MP stated.
“MOUs are not contemplated as instruments to be laid before Parliament. So, this is more political, I mean, political bickering than really actual law,” he added.
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He differentiated the nature of the MoU from an international treaty or contract that imposes binding state obligations, which would necessitate parliamentary oversight.
“MOUs are different. I mean, as a [former] minister, we sign MOUs with people who came to transact business with us in the ministries,” he explained.
The core of Fuseini’s argument rests on Ghana’s pre-existing commitments under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocols on free movement.
He pointed out that the individuals being deported are West African nationals who are already entitled to free entry into Ghana for up to 90 days under the ECOWAS Charter.
“You don’t need Parliament to ratify what we have already approved under the ECOWAS Treaty,” Fuseini asserted.
He elaborated that if the deportees had simply bought a ticket and transited through Ghana, they would be legally entitled to a 90-day stay without any special agreement being laid before Parliament.
“If the United States of America is removing West African nationals to Ghana, with the understanding that Ghana will facilitate their movement to their respective countries, under our obligation, under the ECOWAS charter, we are obliged to provide refuge for those people for a period of 90 days to enable them to return to their countries,” he said.
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Fuseini stressed the regional duty owed to the deportees, emphasising that accepting them is a matter of pan-African credential and obligation to “reduce their suffering and inconvenience” of deportation, not a new legal arrangement requiring an act of Parliament.
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