The Minority in Parliament has said that it would oppose any effort by the Akufo-Addo government to buy a bigger presidential jet for the country.
Eugene Arhin, speaking to journalists at Jubilee House on Monday, September 27, 2021, revealed government intentions to buy a new presidential jet to accommodate presidential travels.
Eugene Arhin said that Ghana’s Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, has already started the procurement procedure for the new jet.
However, the Ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has said that the motion would never be supported by the NDC minority side when it is submitted to the house for approval.
“The Akufo-Addo administration will not get the support of the NDC in purchasing a new aircraft. We are not convinced that there is anything wrong with the current jet,” he said.
“The President and his ministers have not been transparent and accountable enough. This whole business of leading aircraft is borne out of an insatiable appetite for luxury. We are not going to endorse, collaborate and support anything that only seeks to advance the president’s insatiable appetite.”
Mr. Ablakwa also said that he intends to submit another urgent inquiry on the cost of President Akufo-recent Addo’s trip to the United States, he informed also that he expects to receive answers when Parliament returns from recess next month.
“The challenge now is that the house is on recess. The house will have to resume before the Speaker can admit the questions.”
“There are a number of questions I am pursuing. There are new questions for the National Security Minister on the President’s recent trip to the US.”
President Nana Akufo-Addo has come under criticism from North Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who has repeatedly accused the President of squandering taxpayers’ money by leasing luxury jets for his overseas travels rather than utilizing the current presidential jet.
The administration stated that the existing presidential jet was inconvenient for long-distance journeys since it couldn’t accommodate additional passengers and had limited facilities for the president’s pleasure.
The presidential jet issue was reignited recently when Okudzeto Ablakwa revealed that he had submitted two other urgent questions seeking the entire cost of President Akufo-Addo’s travel to the United States.
Mr. Ablakwa wanted to know why the President reportedly chartered a GH3.7 million luxury jet for his recent trip.
“The President has [again] chartered another flight, which cost us GH¢3.7 million. I am filing two other questions on the latest revelations, and I am hoping that this time, the government’s ministers will not pussyfoot and run away from accountability as they have done all of these months,” Mr. Ablakwa said on Eyewitness News.
The Ranking Member had previously claimed that the President had spent GH2.8 million on previous trips to just South Africa and France, using a private jet rather than the presidential jet.
The Finance Ministry, on the other hand, skirted the issue of spending, claiming that information should be given by the National Security Ministry.
Mr. Ablakwa’s most recent allegation said that President Nana Akufo-Addo’s three recent overseas visits cost the public GH10 million.
Eugene, on the other hand, has already disputed the MP’s allegations, calling them false.
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