A PETITION TO THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA

Subject: Demanding the Repeal of the 2018 U.S.-Ghana Defence Cooperation Agreement and the Removal of All Foreign Military Infrastructure from Ghanaian Territory

To the Honorable Speaker and Members of Parliament of the Republic of Ghana

We, the undersigned citizens, residents, and organizations of Ghana, exercising our sovereign right to petition our elected representatives under Article 41 of the 1992 Constitution, do hereby submit this demand for the urgent repeal, or fundamental renegotiation of the Defence Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Ghana and the Government of the United States of America, signed on May 9, 2018, and ratified by Parliament on March 26, 2018.

PREAMBLE: Why We Petition

1. The Example of Venezuela

On January 3, 2026, United States Special Forces entered Caracas, the capital of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. That abduction—a 21st-century act of piracy against a sovereign leader—was enabled by the same global network of U.S. military infrastructure that now includes facilities on Ghanaian soil.

U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted that "no other military in the world... could have executed the most sophisticated, powerful raid, not just in American history, I would say in world history." The infrastructure that made this raid possible—forward operating locations, prepositioned equipment, and unaccountable forces—is the same infrastructure the 2018 agreement authorizes in Ghana.

2. The Threat to Ghana

Ghana is one of the most resource-endowed nations in West Africa. We possess gold, lithium, cocoa, and soon, significant oil and gas reserves. These resources are the object of intense

imperialist competition. The same empire that seized Venezuela's oil will not hesitate to seize ours if we appear weak, divided, or complicit in our own subjugation.

The 2018 agreement grants U.S. forces:

1. Unimpeded access to agreed facilities (Article 5(1))

2. The right to preposition military equipment for exclusive U.S. use (Article 7)

3. Freedom of movement within Ghanaian territory without case-by-case approval (Article 12)

4. Exemption from taxes, customs duties, and inspections (Article 9)

5. Free use of Ghana's radio spectrum (Article 13)

These provisions create the infrastructure for unilateral U.S. military action from Ghanaian territory—without the knowledge or consent of the Ghanaian people or their elected representatives.

3. The Betrayal of Nkrumah's Legacy

Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah taught us that "the independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent." He built a foreign policy based on anti-imperialism, non-alignment, and solidarity with liberation movements worldwide.

The 2018 agreement betrays this legacy. It aligns Ghana with a military empire that:

1. Overthrows democratically elected governments

2. Imposes illegal sanctions on sovereign nations

3. Maintains a network of 800 military bases worldwide

4. Has killed hundreds of thousands in wars of aggression from Vietnam to Iraq to Libya

 

We refuse to allow Ghanaian territory to be used as a launchpad for imperial wars against our sister nations in Africa, Latin America, or anywhere in the world.

4. The Will of the People

When the agreement was ratified in 2018, it faced significant opposition. The Minority in Parliament boycotted the vote. Civil society organizations warned of its dangers. University lecturers and constitutional experts raised alarms.

Yet the agreement was passed without adequate public debate, without full disclosure of its implications, and without the informed consent of the Ghanaian people. This petition seeks to correct that democratic deficit.

OUR DEMANDS

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call upon the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana to

Demand 1: Full Disclosure: Immediately release to the public the full, unredacted text of the 2018 Defence Cooperation Agreement, including all annexes, appendices, and any subsequent amendments, addenda, or implementing arrangements.

Demand 2: Urgent Parliamentary Review: Convene public hearings of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior, with expert testimony from:

 

1. Constitutional lawyers

2. International relations scholars

3. Civil society organizations

4. Former diplomats and military officers

5. Representatives of communities near agreed facilities

Demand 3: Repeal or Fundamental Renegotiation: Revoke or fundamentally renegotiate Articles 5(1), 7, and 12 to:

1. End the grant of unimpeded access to agreed facilities

2. Prohibit the prepositioning of foreign military equipment on Ghanaian soil

3. Require case-by-case parliamentary approval for any foreign military movement within Ghanaian territory

4. Restore full Ghanaian jurisdiction over all foreign personnel and equipment

Demand 4: A Binding Resolution Against Permanent Bases: Adopt a binding parliamentary resolution declaring that the Republic of Ghana shall not host any permanent foreign military bases, by any name or euphemism—including "logistics hubs," "training facilities," "cooperation sites," or "forward operating locations."

Demand 5: Parliamentary Oversight for All Future Agreements: Enact legislation requiring that any future military cooperation agreements, with any foreign power, undergo:

1. Full parliamentary debate

2. Public consultation

3. Expert review

4. Ratification by at least two-thirds of Parliament

OUR PLEDGE

We, the undersigned, pledge to:

1. Monitor Parliament's response to this petition and hold our elected representatives accountable.

2. Educate our communities about the dangers of foreign military presence.

3. Mobilize in defense of Ghanaian sovereignty should Parliament fail to act.

4. Build a broad, united coalition of all Ghanaians who reject foreign domination.

5. Link our struggle with sister nations across Africa and the Global South facing similar imperialist threats.

CONCLUSION

The people of Ghana did not fight for independence so that foreign powers could return through the back door of "cooperation agreements." We did not shed sweat and blood to build this nation so that our territory could be used to bomb others.

We demand that Ghana's sovereignty be real, not symbolic. We demand that no foreign soldier operates on our soil without our consent. We demand that our resources—our gold, our lithium, our cocoa—serve our people, not foreign empires.

The world is watching. History is watching. The ancestors who fought for our freedom are watching.

We call upon Parliament to act. 

CC:

1. The Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament

2. The Hon. Chair, Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior

3. The Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs

4. The Hon. Minister for Defence 

Submitted by:

The Socialist Movement of Ghana (SMG)

Coalition Against Foreign Military Bases