Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu in the Volta Region, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has traveled to Romania to interact with Ghanaian students there over what many believes is political propaganda move.
He touched down at Bucharest Tuesday morning after leaving the shores of Ghana Monday night, enroute Turkey.
He then connected to Romania which shares border with Ukraine.
Many were of the views that the MP traveled to Romania with a mindset of getting negative report on government’s efforts at evacuating the stranded Ghanaian students for political points but he was unfortunately greeted with positivity on the part of Government which leaves him with nothing to talk about than to treat the students with lunch.
Over 1000 Ghanaians were studying in Ukraine before Russia’s invasion which forced citizens and foreigners to flee to safety.
On his Facebook page, Mr Ablakwa claimed he traveled to Romania because it is a constitutional imperative of oversight imposed on parliamentarians because there is a higher obligation of our common humanity and nationhood.
“I salute Ahmed Tijani Abubakr of our diplomatic mission in Prague for his impressive consular services which have been praised by the students.
“The Romanians have been awesome with their exceptional kindness. Our nation owes them a debt of gratitude.”
The legislature who has been so impressed with the efforts Government of Ghana is putting in place to ensure the students have comfortable lives before they arrive home safely said he interacted with a number of the students and bought them lunch.
Touching on how the Ghanaian officials in Romania trying to help their compatriot to settle ahead of the return to Ghana, Mr. Okudzeto told an Accra based media outlet via phone that the Ghanaians have been moved from a temporal place to a hotel in Bucharest, the capital of Romania.
“I’ve gone to see the hotel and hosted them to lunch. Almost 200 of them of the first batch. 17 have been processed and arrived in Ghana but clearly the larger group remains here.
“According to Mr. Ahmed Tijani Abubakr who is the Consular in Prague because we do not have an embassy in Romania, rather than Czech Republic, so they sent an official who is very very dynamic, very very hardworking. I mean it is not a work for one man to do but he is bearing it very strong and the students are impressed.
“He tells me he has been able to secure Qatar Airways which will take the second group on Friday and hopefully the last group will leave Bucharest on Sunday so that by Monday morning all of those I met here should be in Accra.
He was of the view that Romania now hosts the largest number of Ghanaian students — an estimated 200, expected to be evacuated to Ghana.
Mr. Okudzeto was of the view a lot of the students expressed worried about their course when he interacted with them as some who are even in their final year fear their education in Ukraine may be curtailed as a result of the conflict.
“I did share with them a positive development. The Bulgarian Ambassador reach out to me saying they are willing to take on board students who are willing to finish their programme with them, they will help them to finish,” he said.
He suggested government engaging the Ministry of Education in Romania and other countries to help the students continue their programme with them if the reconstruction and rebuilding process will delay.
By Vincent Kubi