Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has come under intense scrutiny over comments he made at a recent public event at Chatham House on the airstrike by the United States (US) on a terrorist target in Nigeria.

Claim

The Minority Caucus of Parliament, led by its Ranking Member for the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House and Member of Parliament for Damongo, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, has claimed that Ablakwa, at the Chatham House event, said the US used Ghana as a base to strike targets in Nigeria.

Addressing a press briefing in Parliament on 11 March 2026, Jinapor, who was a Minister for Lands and Natural Resources under the government of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, also claimed that Ablakwa said that President John Dramani Mahama approved the use of Ghana’s territory as a base for the US operation.

“Yesterday or so, the foreign minister of our country, the Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in London, at Chatham House, in contributing to a panel discussion, indicated that sometime last December (December 2025), the Mahama administration collaborated and cooperated with the United States of America and ceded Ghanaian territory as grounds or a base for the United States of America to unleash airstrikes against ISIS in Northern Nigeria.

“Indeed, the Foreign Minister indicated that this was done at the express authorisation of the government of President Mahama. This was said on foreign soil, before a foreign international institute, Chatham House,” he said while demanding that the foreign minister appear before Parliament to answer questions on Mahama.

These claims by Jinapor have gone viral and are among the major issues in public discussions. But did the Minister of Foreign Affairs say these things?



What Ablakwa said:

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, while speaking on Ghana’s military agreement with the US and other countries, hinted that Ghana played a role in the Christmas Day airstrike by the American government against terrorist targets in Nigeria.

During a panel discussion at Chatham House on 10 March 2026, the minister indicated that the airstrike by the US, which was against Islamic jihadists in Sokoto in the northern part of Nigeria, was requested by the Nigerian government.

He went on to state that the US and Nigerian governments contacted Ghana to play a role in the airstrike.

“We also take the view that any operation, any intervention, must be on a case-by-case basis, and there has to be express approval. So, the recent attacks in Nigeria, the Nigerians will confirm to you that they invited the Americans, and they also reached out to Ghana to collaborate — both the Nigerians and the Americans,” he said.

Ablakwa, who didn’t state exactly what role Ghana was asked to play in the strikes, or whether it was accepted, said that the government of Ghana would not take any step that violates its sovereignty or that of another country.

“Sovereignty has to be respected. Territorial integrity has to be respected. You must be invited, and we must all agree on the scope of the intervention because we do not want this to lead to another Venezuelan situation or some other, you know, geopolitical matter, because sovereignty is important, territorial integrity is important.

“We must know exactly what the scope is, what you are coming to do, the nature of the intervention. It's very, very important. I mean, our citizens would not forgive us, and legitimately so, if we just, you know, take away their sovereignty and allow external elements to just come in and do whatever they want,” he said.

Ablakwa hints at Ghana's involvement in US Christmas Day airstrike in Nigeria

Analysis:

The two statements above — that of the foreign minister and the Damongo MP — show that the two men were saying completely different things. At no point did Ablakwa state that the United States used Ghana’s territory as a base for the airstrikes in Nigeria, as claimed by the former lands minister.

Also, the Foreign Affairs Minister never said that President Mahama approved the use of Ghana as a base for the strike, as Jinapor has been accused of saying.

Another notable difference is that Jinapor's statement ignored Ablakwa’s claim that the Nigerian government also invited Ghana to play a role in the operation.

Verdict:

Jinapor’s claim that Ablakwa said that the US used Ghana as a base for its strike in Nigeria is completely false.

Also, his claim that the Foreign Affairs Minister said that President Mahama approved the use of Ghana as a base is also completely false.

BAI

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