Legal counsel to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Kow Essuman, has called out key figures of the opposition National Democratic Congress over their seeming silence on the recent selection of Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations.

In an X post on Monday, October 28, 2024, Kow Essuman questioned why the flagbearer of the NDC, former President John Dramani Mahama, his running mate Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, have yet to congratulate the minister.

“I have yet to see a congratulatory message from Former President @JDMahama or his running mate, @NJOAgyemang, or the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, @S_OkudzetoAblak, on the selection of Ghana’s Foreign Minister, @AyorkorBotchwey, as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations. This is the first time that a Ghanaian and an African woman has been appointed to this position. Furthermore, the selection of @AyorkorBotchwey is the most prominent international position a Ghanaian has assumed since Kofi Annan was appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations,” he wrote.

Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has recently been selected for the position of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.

The minister was selected by the Commonwealth Heads of Government at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on October 25, 2024.

She is the first Ghanaian to assume this prominent role.

I have yet to see a congratulatory message from Former President @JDMahama or his running mate, @NJOAgyemang, or the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, @S_OkudzetoAblak, on the selection of Ghana’s Foreign Minister, @AyorkorBotchwey, as Secretary-General of the…

— Kow Essuman (@kaessuman) October 28, 2024