Don’t take prophecies for granted – Bagbin

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has cautioned Ghanaians against disregarding genuine spiritual warnings, stressing the need to take messages from trusted religious leaders seriously.

He said this while consoling the family of the late Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator, Alhaji Muniru Limuna Mohammed, during funeral rites in his honour. The ceremony also marked the burial of former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed. Both were among the victims of the August 6 military helicopter crash.

Mr. Bagbin told mourners that credible men of God carry insights that should not be lightly dismissed, warning that failing to listen could come at a national cost.

“We must pay attention to the pastors and reverends who have proven to be genuine. Not all of them are motivated by money. I take prophetic messages seriously because that is their field of expertise. Just as nobody outside Parliament can claim to know parliamentary work better than I do, I cannot claim to understand the spiritual realm better than those who have dedicated their lives to it. All these things happen for a reason, and we must not ignore them,” he said.

His remarks follow a new directive from the Presidency’s Interfaith and Ecumenical Relations Office requiring religious leaders to submit any prophecy or revelation of national importance for official review. The instruction, issued by Presidential Envoy Elvis Afriyie Ankrah on Sunday, August 10, calls for prompt reporting of messages concerning political leadership, governance, security, or public stability.

The move comes after viral videos surfaced online showing some pastors claiming they had foreseen the helicopter disaster but were disregarded. The crash killed eight people, including two cabinet ministers, sparking renewed debate about the role of spiritual warnings in public decision-making.

The deceased were Defence Minister Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Environment Minister Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye, and NDC Vice Chairman Dr. Samuel Sarpong.

BREAD: Omane Boamah’s demise is deeply personal for me – Adu-Boahene

Also lost were Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah of the Ghana Armed Forces. The Z-9 helicopter they were travelling in left Accra at 9:12 a.m. bound for Obuasi to launch the Responsible Co-operative Mining and Skills Development Programme (COMSDEP) but went off radar, leading to a search that confirmed all eight aboard had perished.