Minister nominee for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has called for a return to the vision of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, to drive reforms within the African Union (AU).

According to him, the AU’s effectiveness in addressing Africa’s challenges depends on bold institutional reforms inspired by the founding principles of pan-Africanism.

He said this while appearing before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Friday, January 31.

"If Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah was alive, his response to this your question would be, ‘I told you so.’", he said.

He argued that Dr Nkrumah’s vision for a united and self-reliant Africa remains relevant, particularly in tackling economic dependency, security threats, and governance deficits on the continent.

"Remember that when he [Kwame Nkrumah] led the Casablanca group, he wanted a more integral United African States, a strong political force. He added that we must have a standby force, a military force. We must have a bank. We must have a common currency. We must remove all trade, various trade tariffs, and artificial borders, which are relics of the Berlin Conference when Otto Von Bismarck called his friends in Europe and shared Africa amongst themselves. But unfortunately, that group prevailed, and they said, let's have a loose union without an Africa stand-by force, without a bank and all of these political structures that the visionary Kwame Nkrumah put forward."

Mr Ablakwa highlighted the need for Africa to strengthen its financial independence by reducing reliance on external donors, improving intra-African trade, and enhancing regional security collaboration.

"So I think at the heart of this perception of the AU, it's about continental African unity and how we must go back to the original Nkrumah blueprint, as was espoused by the Casablanca group."

The North Tongu legislator reaffirmed that he will be committed to supporting AU-led initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), headquartered in Accra, to promote economic growth and industrialization, if approved.