New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constituency Chairman for New Juaben North in the Eastern Region, has accused North Tongu Member of Parliament (MP), Okudzeto Ablakwa of being dishonest for questioning the costs of Akufo-Addo’s foreign trips.
Mr Kwadwo Boateng-Agyemang, says he cannot fathom the persistence of the former Deputy Education Minister.
“He wants to act as if he is an investigative MP who knows about all the trips of the President and is just putting out figures.
“He has been a Minister and MP for years and knows that in the operational budget line, that o of national security is not discussed in public so why would he call the minister to come out and disclose figures. That is pure dishonesty because he wants Ghanaians to get agitated,” he fumed on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen.
Mr Ablakwa, who is a ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee has alleged that President Akufo-Addo had hired jets that cost the state £14,000 per hour and a cumulative ¢3.46 million.
He said the luxurious aircraft was hired on his recent foreign trips to the United Kingdom and Germany.
Mr Ablakwa further alleged that the President, again, hired a private jet at the cost of ¢2.8 million on his travels to France, Belgium and South Africa at the expense of tax-burned Ghanaians.
He filed an urgent question in Parliament to get answers on the cost and why Ghana’s presidential jet was not used but the National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah says he cannot meet his demands over security reasons.
In view of this, he called for a national policy on presidential travels akin to what pertains in other jurisdictions amidst demands for the disclosure of the costs involved in all the trips.
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But to Mr Boateng-Agyemang, Mr Ablakwa is someone who knows the dangers associated with using Ghana’s presidential jet hence must not complain if the President hires a jet for foreign trips.
He maintained that, the presidential jet is not in a good state for travels, adding the security of the President must be paramount.
The NPP Chairman recounted how President Akufo-Addo and his entourage escaped an accident when one of the engines of the aircraft developed a fault and went off.
“What surprises me about Okudzeto is that he was at the United Nations Conference in Washington on September 30, 2018, as the ranking member. The American Airforce warned Akufo-Addo that he will die if he uses the falcon again.
“On their return from the trip, in less than 30 minutes after they set off, one engine went off and they had to resort to an Emirate commercial flight. So why is he not touching on all these issues,” he added.
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