NDC General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey has challenged the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to prove that Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa stole money meant for evacuating Ghanaians from South Africa.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express on Tuesday, November 3, he dismissed the opposition party’s protest over the expenditure as politically motivated.

“What have you been able to establish against the foreign Minister that is stolen? What? How much money? You can’t prove one.”

His challenge followed an NPP youth demonstration in Accra demanding accountability over the evacuation. Protesters demanded their money back and explanations for an alleged GH¢16.4 million discrepancy.

They also sought flight invoices, payment records and an independent audit.

The dispute concerns a reported GH¢49.72 million operation to evacuate 1,964 Ghanaians following xenophobic violence and intimidation in South Africa.

The Minority has questioned beneficiary registers, duplicate entries and other expenditure records. Those allegations do not establish that money was stolen.

Mr Kwetey maintained that the NPP was searching for a scandal against a minister who had exposed wrongdoing under its administration.

“They come at you with every venom; they want to destroy at all costs.”

When the host raised concerns about signatures and duplications in the ministry’s documents, Mr Kwetey dismissed them as peripheral.

He argued that Mr Ablakwa’s previous allegations against the NPP had been supported by substantive evidence.

“He was providing evidence, hardcore evidence, of stealing that was going on, of abuse that was going on, providing authentic documentation.”

Mr Kwetey also questioned complaints about evacuation support payments raised months after beneficiaries returned. He argued that recipients should have reported any shortfall at the airport or soon afterwards.

Turning to the demonstration, he challenged its basis.

“It’s a total joke to go and do a demonstration, a demonstration on the back of what.”

He said his objection to manufacturing scandals extended to his own party. Recalling his time as an opposition MP after the 2016 election, he said pressure to find wrongdoing at all costs had contributed to his decision to leave his ranking role on Parliament’s Trade and Industry Committee.

“If there’s something genuinely wrong with NPP, I will speak.”

He accused the opposition of relying on scandal hunting instead of learning from its 2024 electoral defeat, adding, “How desperate can you be, NPP?”