Stop Sabotaging National Identification Exercise - President Akufo Addo Cautions Minority and Other Stakeholders

President Akufo Addo has taken a swipe at elements within the Ghanaian political divide, particularly, some Members of Parliament from the minority side, who have had concerns over the non-acceptance of the Voter's Identity Cards as one of the statutory national Identity documents that will be accepted ahead of a Ghanaian citizen's quest to obtain the new Ghana Card.

In his remarks as Guest of Honour at the fourteenth commencement ceremony and presentation of the Presidential Charter at Ashesi University College, President Akufo Addo, quoting from the parliamentary hanzard, said it is unfortunate that after very careful scrutiny and debate by members of parliament on which IDs should be accepted and which should be rejected, "the country seems to be embroiled once again in another of those full scale manufactured stories deliberately engineered to slow down progress in everything we try to do".

"There is a point of view being argued vociferously that the possession of a Voter's ID Card should qualify one to be issued a National ID card even though that view was never canvassed during the parliamentary consideration of this matter," the President said.

The Debate Over National ID Card

The President stated that he has no personal interest nor intention to prevent genuine citizens from being issued with identity cards. However, due to what is trite knowledge in Ghana that some non-Ghanaians possess Voter's ID cards and National Health Insurance cards which also led to the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Abu Ramadan versus Attorney General, there is no better and credible basic documentary requirements for establishing nationality or citizenship than a birth certificate or a passport. 

"What then are we to make of the outrage being orchestrated by some high-ranking leaders of the Opposition, and some members of the Minority in Parliament, when all the evidence points to their enthusiastic support of the National Identity Register (Amendment) Bill, when it came before them in the House? I believe it is worth recalling here some of their contributions". The Ranking Member on the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Select Committee in Parliament, i.e. the designated leader of the Minority on that Committee, Hon. Inusah Fuseini, MP for Tamale Central and former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources under the Mahama government, noted, during the debate on the floor of Parliament, that “There is no controversy in the amendments. It seeks to expand the field of information that would be required, and bring the information up to date with modern trends.”

"He was supported in this by the NDC MP for Banda, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim, who said: “Mr. Speaker, from the day of the birth of Jesus Christ, registration and census were done. Therefore, it is very pathetic that, as a country, we do not know who a Ghanaian is… Mr. Speaker, if there is something as a country that Ghanaians should come together and support, I believe this Bill is one of them.” The NDC MP for Ellembelle, Hon. Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the former Minister for Petroleum under the Mahama government, in his contribution, further stated “The amendment Bill is long overdue, and very critical for our country. The issue of who a Ghanaian is, is very critical in this country, especially because of the issues we face", the President said.

In continuation the President added, "these are samples of the sentiments that allowed the House to accept, unanimously, i.e. without dissent, the Report of the Committee, which stated, amongst others: “The Committee also noted that the Bill seeks to do away with the use of voters’ identity cards, drivers’ license and baptismal certificates as proof of citizenship. It, however maintains the use of birth certificates and passports. It further introduces residence permits and other documents evidencing acquired citizenship. Officials of the NIA informed the Committee that the changes are consistent with the decision of the Supreme Court in Abu Ramadan v Attorney-General delivered in May, 2016.”

Call for Support

The President called on all Ghanaian for their unparalleled support for the exercise in order for it to achieve it objective of issuing every Ghanaian with an Identity card.

"There are four pages of information that the NIA officials require from us, to help them determine if we qualify for a card. There is the legal definition of who is a Ghanaian and I pray we abandon giving politics a bad name and support this exercise to proceed rapidly to a successful end" the President stated.

Ashesi's Presidential Charter

Since 2002, when Ashesi University College opened its doors to a pioneer class of thirty (30) students in a single rented building in Labone, the University has seen steady growth. In 2018, after a rigorous review of the University College's curriculum, finances, governance and infrastructure by Ghana's National Accreditation Board, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, granted and today presented the Presidential Charter to Ashesi to become a full fledge University that will now be able to award it's own degrees rather than through an affiliate university as all private universities are required to do until they receive a charter. 

Class of 2018

The Ashesi University class of 2018 as part of the event were conferred with three categories of degrees. A total of 79 candidates received Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, 37 candidates were awarded with Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and 21 candidates were awarded with the Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems.