The Ranking Member of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has criticised the government’s deployment of Ghanaian troops to Benin and Jamaica, insisting that such decisions require prior parliamentary approval.
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, Rev. Ntim Fordjour expressed concern over the lack of consultation with Parliament, describing it as a disregard for institutional oversight and due process.
He emphasised that while there is no objection to the principle of assisting the two countries, the executive must follow proper procedures to ensure transparency, accountability, and scrutiny of costs and modalities.
“The decisions that should have come to Parliament for prior approval… these troops committed to undertakings in Benin and Jamaica ought to have come to the attention of Parliament,” he stated.
The deployment to Benin follows a failed coup attempt in the West African nation on December 7, 2025, where ECOWAS swiftly authorised its standby force, including contributions from Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, and Sierra Leone, to support President Patrice Talon’s government in preserving constitutional order.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour questioned the protocols, troop numbers, duration, and costs involved, drawing parallels to a past deployment to Guinea-Bissau where a coup occurred despite the presence of regional forces.
He argued that the post-facto intervention in Benin, after the coup had been thwarted, raises doubts about its impact and necessity, especially given domestic security challenges.
On the Jamaica deployment, Ghana sent a contingent of engineers from the 48th Engineers Regiment on December 17, 2025, to assist with reconstruction efforts following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.
President John Dramani Mahama announced the humanitarian mission as an act of Pan-African solidarity with the diaspora, with troops airlifted via US assistance to help rebuild infrastructure.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour again stressed the need for prior parliamentary interrogation of costs, duration, and details, noting that recent approvals for helicopter purchases involved Parliament.
He accused the executive of taking Parliament for granted and running the country as if it were a one-party state.
The MP also criticised recent shows of force by security agencies on Accra streets, calling them misplaced amid ongoing conflicts like the Bawku crisis and illegal mining (galamsey) threats.
He urged prioritisation of domestic flashpoints over international deployments while Ghana’s own peace ranking has slipped to 61st globally in the 2025 Global Peace Index.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour highlighted a leadership vacuum at the Ministry of Defence, with no substantive minister since the previous one’s demise, and called for urgent explanations from the Acting Minister of Defence, Minister of Interior, and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“Ghanaians deserve to know the rationale,” he concluded, demanding accountability for taxpayers’ money in these “misplaced priority decisions.”