FACT-CHECK: Walewale MP’s claim that his constituency is bigger than Greater Accra Region is False

Claim: Walewale constituency is bigger than the Greater Accra Region in terms of land size

Source:  Abdul-Kabiru Tiah Mahama (Walewale MP)

Verdict: False

Researched by Gifty Danso

The Member of Parliament for the Walewale Constituency, Abdul-Kabiru Tiah Mahama, on Joy FM’s Newsfile programme, claimed that the land size of his constituency is bigger than the Greater Accra Region. 

Speaking on the March 7, 2026 edition of the show while contributing to the conversation about MPs’ means of transport, the Walewale MP said: 

“The problem is that the MPs, having lived with the problems, try to live beyond what they can do, including going to borrowing to go take care of the people, so there’s that sense that they are rich. And when you see the problem and it confronts you every day, the President doesn’t get to see it; no other arm of government gets to see it…

“You’re the one seeing it. And in order not to let the problem consume the people, you have to find ways of fixing it… Now, the land size of my constituency is more than the whole of Greater Accra Region, Walewale constituency, in terms of land size is more than the whole of Greater Accra Region. As an MP, you expect me to engage them on policy and consult them before I come to Parliament. Can I do that with a bicycle or a saloon car?” he asked. 

As an MP for a constituency bigger than the Greater Accra Region, Tiah Abdul-Kabiru Mahama rejects calls for MPs to use bicycles, saying effective community engagement requires practical transport, not symbolic gestures. #Newsfile pic.twitter.com/UhrOUoJGTk

— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) March 7, 2026

This fact-check will verify the claim about the land size. 

Fact-check

GhanaFact relied on information from the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council and the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly to verify the claim. 

What is the difference between a region and a constituency

A region is a large administrative unit focused on local governance and development. Ghana has 16 regions and at the local level, 261 districts. Meanwhile, a constituency is a smaller electoral division designed specifically for voting and parliamentary representation. Ghana has 275 constituencies. 

According to the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council, although Greater Accra is the smallest of the 16 regions in terms of area, it occupies a total land surface of 3,245 square kilometres, or 1.4% of Ghana’s total land area. 

In the case of the Walewale constituency, it falls within the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly with Walewale as the regional capital of the municipality. 

According to the Assembly, it has a total land area of 2,610.44 square kilometres. It shares boundaries with East Mamprusi Municipal to the East, Savelugu Municipal to the South, Talensi-Nabdam to the North and to the West, Mamprugu Moagduri. 

Greater Accra Region land size	Walewale Constituency land size
3,245 sq km	2,610.44 sq km

MP’s response 

GhanaFact engaged the Walewale MP on whether it was problematic to compare a region to a constituency. Through a Facebook Messenger exchange, he confirmed that the municipality and constituency are the same in terms of geographical size. “Constituency is same as the district (in size). It does not fall in between more than one district or vice versa,” he said. 

He also shared with GhanaFact that the West Mamprusi Municipality falls within longitudes 0°35’W and 1°45’W and latitude 9°55’N and 10°35’N, which “puts the estimated area of West Mamprusi district at around 5,010 sq km. Other estimates put it at 4,892km2.”

These same coordinates are referenced by the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly on its website. But the land size as stated on the website was 2,610.44 sq km, and not 5,010 sq km or 4892km2 as the MP stated. 

GhanaFact also calculated the size of the coordinates using two AI models – ChatGPT and Google Gemini. They both gave the land size as 9,400 km² and 9,463.16 km² respectively. 

When presented with this data from the municipality’s website, the Walewale MP said: “Well. I have provided you with my source and pointing out the obvious issue with the figures you gave based on the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates. I also gave you figures reference from other sources. It is your choice to decide on what to use. Clearly, I made the statement knowing these figures as the MP before you could even fact checked.”

Verdict

Therefore, the claim is false.