Minority ambushes Mahama with cocoa pods during SONA

What began as a ceremonial moment in the Parliament ahead of the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) quickly transformed into a charged political theatre, as Minority Members of Parliament used cocoa pods to stage a symbolic protest against the government’s management of the cocoa sector.

The dramatic scenes unfolded on Friday, February 28, 2026, moments after the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, formally invited President John Dramani Mahama to deliver his constitutionally mandated address to the House.

What should have been a routine transition into the President’s speech instead became a visual and political confrontation that laid bare deep divisions over the state of the cocoa industry.

As the President entered the chamber, Majority MPs erupted into a celebratory Twi chant — “Ɔde asɛmpa na aba oo, Ɔde asɛmpa na aba ooo” — loosely translated as “He has brought good news.”

The chant echoed the government’s optimism around its economic reform agenda, including the much-publicised “24-Hour Economy” policy, which the administration has presented as a pathway to productivity, job creation, and national economic revival.

But the mood quickly shifted. The Minority caucus countered with a modified refrain, replacing the final line with “atɔ nsuom” — meaning “it has fallen into water,” a popular expression signifying collapse or failure.

The exchange of chants captured the deep political divide in the House, but it was the Minority’s next action that transformed the moment into a national talking point.

In a striking symbolic gesture, Minority MPs raised cocoa pods in the chamber, turning the most iconic cash crop into a tool of political protest.

The display immediately redirected attention from policy slogans and economic promises to what the Minority described as a deepening crisis in the cocoa sector — one they argue reflects broader governance and economic failures.

Cocoa as a symbol of national distress
Cocoa is not just an agricultural product in Ghana; it is a strategic national asset.

The sector supports hundreds of thousands of farming households, underpins rural economies, and remains one of the country’s most critical sources of foreign exchange.

Institutions such as the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) regulate the industry, making cocoa policy inseparable from national economic stability.

By brandishing cocoa pods in Parliament, the Minority sought to visually dramatise what they describe as the growing distress within the sector — including falling production levels, rising debts, financial instability, and declining farmer confidence.

The protest was intended to send a message that behind the government’s language of recovery and reform, one of the most important economic pillars is under severe strain.

Background

The parliamentary action comes against the backdrop of months of tension surrounding cocoa sector policies, including price reductions, financial restructuring at COCOBOD, and growing discontent among farmers, purchasing clerks, and sector workers.

Recent weeks have seen public protests, press conferences by cocoa farmers, and complaints from cocoa purchasing clerks who say they are struggling with funding shortages, price cuts, and mounting debts to farmers and financial institutions.

The Minority’s action in Parliament reflects this wider social pressure. Rather than limiting their criticism to speeches and statements, they chose a powerful visual symbol that resonates deeply with Ghanaian society — cocoa — to dramatise their claim that the sector is being neglected in national economic planning.

SONA Under Political Pressure

The protest also reframed the atmosphere of the 2026 SONA itself. While the Majority framed the President’s address as a message of “good news” and national recovery, the Minority used the cocoa pods as a counter-narrative — suggesting that government optimism does not align with the lived realities of farmers and rural communities.