Minority mounts pressure on govt to evacuate Ghanaian students in Wuhan

The Minority caucus in Parliament has called on the government to immediately evacuate Ghanaians living in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in China.

The Minority Ranking members on the Health and Foreign Affairs, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa made the call when they spoke to the members of the parliamentary press corps on Tuesday afternoon [February 11, 2020].

They argued that it was unfathomable that President Akufo-Addo has remained quiet on the matter since the outbreak while his administration seems unmoved by the distress calls by Ghanaian students in Wuhan.

Admitting that they were mindful of the available World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols on evacuations, they insisted those protocols could be followed in the evacuation process.

”We have convened this press conference to renew our demands on the Akufo-Addo led government to immediately evacuate our nationals in Wuhuan, particularly students who are stranded and continue to cry out for help. The leadership of this country, cannot be callous, cannot be insensitive… when it is about the life of our nation. It is in times like these that we asses the value that leadership places on the life of our citizens. We hereby call on the Akufo-government to immediately evacuate our students, particularly those under lock and key."

“We have discussed as a Minority and the leadership of the Minority caucus have asked that we give a three-day ultimatum to the Akufo-Addo government. They have three days, latest by Friday, the evacuation of Ghanaian students should take place and these students should be brought to us. We owe them. We should not be callous and insensitive to their plight,” Mr Ablakwa said.