The Majority in Parliament has dismissed as reckless, claims by the Minority that Ghana’s alleged glorification of Ibrahim Traoré by the John Dramani Mahama government triggered the recent attack on Ghanaian traders in Burkina Faso.
The Minority’s assertion follows the killing of eight Ghanaian tomato traders by suspected terrorists while they were engaged in trading activities across the border.
Reacting to the allegations, Chairman of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, James Agalga, rejected the claims, describing them as unfounded and irresponsible.
He argued that tensions between Ghana and Burkina Faso predated the current administration and pointed to developments under the previous government.
“The day the previous government accused Burkina Faso of the Wagner Group to help it fight terrorism was the day Burkina Faso withdrew from the Accra Initiative. That was when Burkina Faso refused to collaborate with Ghana in terms of intelligence sharing to deal with terrorism,” Mr Agalga said.
He noted that efforts by the Mahama administration have rather been aimed at restoring cooperation with neighbouring countries to strengthen the fight against terrorism.
“When President Mahama came into office, he decided that there was a need for us to have a relationship with the Burkinabes, and that is why he appointed a special envoy to continue to liaise with the three Sahel countries in our quest to combat terrorism.”
Adding that “So, I am very disappointed that the minority is saying that the reason why Ghanaians were killed in Burkina Faso was that we are glorifying a head of state, Ibrahim Traoré . That is the most irresponsible thing I have heard,” he said.
