Former Ghana Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta during a public event amid calls for his return to Ghana. — Former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta attends a public event. President John Dramani Mahama has urged him to return to Ghana as extradition proceedings continue.

Mahama urges Ken Ofori-Atta to return as Ghana pursues extradition process

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President John Dramani Mahama has called on former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to return to Ghana voluntarily, saying authorities are following legal extradition procedures while assuring him of a fair judicial process.

HO, Ghana — President John Dramani Mahama has urged former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to return to Ghana voluntarily as authorities continue legal efforts to secure his return from the United States, saying anyone who believes they have done nothing wrong should not avoid the judicial process.

Speaking during a Citizens’ Engagement programme at Ho Technical University as part of his Resetting Ghana Tour of the Volta Region, Mahama said the Attorney General’s Department had already initiated extradition procedures and was following the legal requirements necessary to seek the former minister’s return.

Mahama stressed that any attempt to return Mr Ofori-Atta must follow established international legal procedures, noting that Ghana must rely on extradition arrangements with the country where the former minister is currently residing before American courts determine whether such a request can proceed. He said the process also protects the individual’s legal rights, including the opportunity to challenge the application before a judge.

The President said the Attorney General’s Department had already submitted an extradition application and was responding to requests for additional documentation required by the legal process.

Recalling public comments made by Mr Ofori-Atta during his tenure as Finance Minister, Mahama referred to a period when more than 80 New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament reportedly called for his removal from office. At the time, the former minister defended remaining in office by likening himself to a father who could not abandon his children.

Mahama said the former minister should now honour those earlier remarks by returning to Ghana.

“If you’re a man of principle, and you believe you’ve done nothing wrong, I don’t see why you should flee your own country,” the President said.

John Dramani Mahama is the sixth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana. — President John Dramani Mahama

He added that Mr Ofori-Atta would receive a fair hearing under Ghana’s judicial system and would have every opportunity to defend himself if he returned. The President also argued that remaining outside the country could leave unanswered questions about the former minister’s legacy.

Mr Ofori-Atta, who served as Ghana’s Finance Minister from 2017 to 2024, has previously maintained his innocence through his legal representatives in response to matters under investigation. At the time of publication, there was no immediate fresh response from him or his lawyers to Mahama’s latest remarks.

Extradition requests involving another jurisdiction typically require judicial approval in both the requesting and requested countries before an individual can be returned. Mahama acknowledged that any decision on Mr Ofori-Atta’s return ultimately rests with the courts handling the case in the United States.