The Member of Parliament for (MP) Mpraeso, Davis Ansah Opoku, has stated that persons with dual citizenship should be allowed to contest in elections to become Members of Ghana’s Parliament.
According to him, it does not make sense that persons with dual nationality are allowed to hold key positions in the government but they cannot become MPs.
Davis Opoku said that even in advanced countries like the United Kingdom, legislators are allowed to have dual citizenship.
“For me, I support and I’m pushing for dual citizens to sit in parliament. So, this whole thing of somebody holding a citizenship of another country… that person should not be denied the opportunity to contribute to the development of our country,”
“Boris Johnson, he was the Prime Minister of the UK; whiles serving as PM, he was a US citizen as well. The Prime Minister of Canada holds a Canadian citizenship as well as a US citizenship. People’s allegiance to the state should not be questioned by the mere fact that they embarked on a trip to seek for greener pastures somewhere.
“If you look at the NCA (National Communication Authority) that is the nerve of our country; look at the National Health Insurance Authority that holds the health data of our country; these two institutions can be managed by people who hold dual citizenship. Why can’t such persons sit in parliament to pass laws,” he said.
The MP, therefore, called for an amendment of Ghana’s constitutes to allow Ghanaians who have other nationalities to contest to become MPs.
“The times when that law, that constitutional provision was made has changed, whether we like it or not,” he said.
He added that current issues surrounding the nationality of the Member of Parliament for Assin North, who has been accused by the state of lying about his dual nationality should serve as a wake-up call for all MPs.