Managing Editor of The Herald newspaper, Larry Dogbey, has taken issue with Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for announcing the temporary closure of Ghana’s embassy in Washington, D.C. through a personal Facebook post, rather than an official government statement.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Tuesday, May 27, Dogbey argued that such a significant diplomatic development warranted a formal communication approach.

He cautioned that the use of social media for official announcements could undermine public trust and government credibility.

“This is a very damning thing. You just do not go on your Facebook page and put a thing like that there. Issue an official statement and sign it, or use your PR office and explain what you found and that it is being investigated further. Then it becomes a government statement. But putting it on your Facebook makes you open yourself up for some of this attack,” he said.

Minister Ablakwa’s Facebook post, published on Monday, May 26, disclosed that the embassy had been temporarily closed following a special audit that uncovered a fraudulent scheme involving financial mismanagement and abuse of office.

He described the move as part of an ongoing effort to restructure and restore integrity within Ghana’s foreign missions.

While Mr. Dogbey commended the decision to shut down the embassy for internal reforms, he stressed that the mode of communication was inappropriate.

“This isn’t a personal issue, it’s a national crisis involving an international mission. The appropriate channel would have been an official press release, backed by the Ministry, to show leadership, transparency, and seriousness,” he said.