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Claim: Several Facebook accounts shared a flyer claiming former Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts, Mark Okraku-Mantey, accused President John Mahama of spending over GH¢300 million on sanitary pads while delivering a poor Independence Day celebration.
Verdict: False! The statement about spending over GH¢300 million on sanitary pads was made by Movement TV host Gordon Asare Bediako, not Mark Okraku-Mantey.
Full Text
On March 8, 2026, several Facebook accounts circulated an artwork claiming that former Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts, Mark Okraku-Mantey, accused President John Mahama of spending over GH¢300 million on sanitary pads while delivering a poor Independence Day celebration.
The artwork was shared by Facebook user Odiasempa Kofi Boadi, who posted it around 6:32 pm with the caption:
“John Mahama spent over GH¢300 million on sanitary pads but gave Ghanaians a poor Independence Day celebration – Mark Okraku-Mantey.”
As of the time of filing this report, the post had generated 94 comments and 46 shares, alongside several emoji reactions.
Two minutes after publishing the post on his personal Facebook page, Boadi also shared the same artwork in a pro-NDC Facebook group called “NDC 2024 FOR JOHN MAHAMA,” which has about 26,600 followers, further amplifying its reach.
Meanwhile, another Facebook page, GF Icon, shared a similar graphic earlier that day, around 3 pm. As of March 10, 2026, that post had generated over 1,500 likes, 1,700 comments, and 108 shares.
Some other users, such as Ka Nsemtvgh, Secretnewsghana, and Capsy Bonuedi, also created and circulated similar flyers that reinforced the claim without verifying its authenticity.
Nonetheless, a review of the comment sections shows that many users criticised Mark Okraku-Mantey, apparently believing he had made the statement, even though most commenters did not reference the original video or any credible source.
Due to the claim’s virality and potential to mislead the public, DUBAWA investigated the claim.
Verification
Findings by DUBAWA show that Mark Okraku-Mantey did not make the statement attributed to him.
The claim originates from a political discussion on Movement TV aired on March 8, 2026. During the programme, host Gordon Asare Bediako interviewed Mark Okraku-Mantey about Ghana’s recent Independence Day celebration.
An analysis of the 7-minute 46-second YouTube video shows that at about 5 minutes 54 seconds, the host, Gordon Asare Bediako, made the remark.
He stated: “You have gone to buy sanitary pads for over 300 million Ghana cedis. Who has benefited from that? As for you, you don’t think cutting that cost?” He said in Twi.
This clearly indicates that the comment originated with the host, not Mark Okraku-Mantey.
Further checks also show that the figure circulating online differs from the official government allocation for the sanitary pad initiative.
In the 2026 Budget Statement, Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson announced that the government had allocated GH¢292 million to provide free sanitary pads to schoolgirls across Ghana.
Conclusion
The claim that Mark Okraku-Mantey accused President John Mahama of spending over GH¢300 million on sanitary pads is false.
