In a recent confrontation, Nana Obiri Boahen, former Deputy Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and member of Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia's presidential campaign team clashed with former Ambassador of Ghana to India, Sam Pee Yalley, over the citizenship status of Vice President Bawumia.
The argument arose after Sam Pee Yalley had alleged that Bawumia, who is also aspiring for the NPP flagbearer position, used to hold British citizenship based on records he possessed. He questioned whether Bawumia had renounced his British citizenship before assuming the role of vice president.
Speaking in an interview with Okay FM on June 12, 2023, Nana Obiri Boahen took issue with Sam Pee Yalley's claims, stating that Bawumia had never been a British citizen. His denial, however, sparked a heated exchange between the two, with Sam Pee accusing Nana Obiri Boahen of speaking without factual evidence and asserting that he had failed as Bawumia's manager.
During their conversation on Okay FM, Sam Pee Yalley challenged Nana Obiri Boahen to provide an explanation for the existence of a document from 2009, allegedly from the Ghana International Bank, which mentioned Bawumia as a British citizen. Sam Pee Yalley sought confirmation regarding Bawumia's directorship and British citizenship status, urging Nana Obiri Boahen to consider the significance of clarifying these matters.
In response, Nana Obiri Boahen categorically denied the claim, asserting that Bawumia had never held British citizenship. Both individuals, being lawyers, emphasized the importance of relying on evidence rather than mere assertions.
Sam Pee Yalley continued to express his concerns, highlighting the potential impact on Ghana's reputation if it were to be rumored that the vice president had once held British citizenship.
He questioned why Bawumia had not publicly displayed his passport or taken concrete steps to address these allegations but merely denying the accusations, according to Sam Pee Yalley, that would not suffice to dispel the doubts and suspicions surrounding the issue.
In the midst of the intense exchange, Nana Obiri Boahen expressed sadness and declined to engage in what he termed as baseless arguments.
Read excerpts of their conversation below:
Sam Pee Yalley: What Nana Obiri Boahen can say is that Sam, I have verified your records, and they are not there. It is not true. But you cannot come and tell me that it is an error. The question I am asking is, whose error is it?
Nana Obiri Boahen: Is it not you who went on the radio to talk about how you came about that document?
Sam: Nana Boahen, continue to be a lawyer, not a political communicator.
Obiri Boahen: Is it not you who claimed you had a document in which we asked you if you could authenticate it?
Sam: Nana Obiri Boahen, I said that way back in 2009, regarding the Ghana International Bank. The directors, Dr. Bawumia, had his name mentioned in that particular document, where he was cited as a British citizen. So, the question I asked was, is it true that he was a director? Is it true that they said he was a British citizen? If...
Obiri Boahen: Bawumia has never been a British citizen.
Sam Pee: Well, that is up to you. But for me, and for you as a lawyer, we don't just say things; we use evidence. So, I will be very comfortable…
Obiri Boahen: You see, for me as a lawyer, and for you as a lawyer, that statement you are talking about, we categorically deny it. Bawumia has never been a British citizen.
Sam Pee: If Nana Boahen is one of Bawumia's managers, then he has failed…because the thing is on record…as a citizen, as a Ghanaian, I would feel proud that this matter had not even been raised. But what is on record has to be raised and clarified.
Do you understand that point? Don't you understand that point, Nana Obiri Boahen? Don't you understand? Do you think it is fair for all of us as Ghanaians that people will be pointing fingers, saying that even our vice president used to be a British citizen? Why hasn't he displayed his passport? What has he done about his renunciation? Merely denying it, does not wash it away.
Obiri Boahen: You see, I am extremely sad…we are not ready to engage in any baseless argument.
Meanwhile, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has refuted allegations that he holds British citizenship.
This claim is being fuelled by details of the vice president on the British government's Companies House website, where Dr. Bawumia is recorded to have indicated that he is a Britain.
But the vice president has stated that some of the details about him on the website are wrong.
According to him, he stated clearly that he is a Ghanaian on the form he filled out for Companies House when he was the director of the Ghana International Bank, a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana in London, UK.
A copy of the Companies House's form filled out by Dr. Bawumia in 2006, which the vice president’s office shared with GhanaWeb, showed that he wrote that he was Ghanaian.
All of Dr. Bawumia’s details captured on the website were the same as the ones he wrote on the information form, except for his nationality and the date he resigned, which were not on the form.
GhanaWeb has reached out to Companies House and the British High Commission in Accra for clarification on the matter, but both entities have not responded yet.
The record of the vice president on the Companies House website showed details of when he was the director of the Ghana International Bank.
It indicated that the Ghana International Bank was still active in the UK, but Dr. Bawumia resigned as the director.
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