Ghana Receives First Batch of West African Deportees from U.S. – Mahama Confirms
President John Mahama has confirmed that Ghana has received the first group of West African nationals deported from the United States under a new bilateral agreement. Speaking at the Presidential Media Encounter at Jubilee House on Wednesday, September 10, the President disclosed that 14 individuals have already arrived, most of them Nigerians, along with one Gambian national.
Mahama explained that Ghana agreed to accept deported West Africans because of the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement, which allows citizens of member states to enter and stay in other West African countries for up to 90 days without a visa. “If our West African colleagues choose to travel from the U.S. to Accra, they wouldn’t need a visa anyway. So, if they are being brought back here, that’s fine,” he said.
According to the President, the Nigerian deportees have already been transported back to Nigeria by bus at their own request. Meanwhile, discussions are ongoing with Gambian authorities to facilitate the return of the Gambian national, who requires further coordination with the Gambian Embassy to secure travel arrangements.
Mahama emphasized that the move is consistent with Ghana’s commitment to regional cooperation and integration under ECOWAS, noting that the arrangement ensures deported West Africans are treated with dignity and within the framework of existing protocols.
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Ghana has opened its doors to West African nationals deported from the United States, in a move President John Mahama says is guided by ECOWAS principles of free movement. So far, 14 people — including Nigerians and Gambians — have been facilitated into Ghana under the agreement.
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