Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is MP for North Tongu
Ranking Member for Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has condemned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his insatiable taste for luxurious air travels.
Ablakwa who is also the Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency was reacting to the government’s decision to procure a new presidential aircraft to replace the 11-year-old Falcon 900 EXE existing presidential jet.
Speaking to Mugabe Maase on the Gumbe Show on TV XYZ, the MP said the move was a misplaced priority and that Ghana did not need to spend over US$ 60 million to get a bigger jet for the president to satisfy him whereas Ghana’s economy keeps dwindling.
He said it was not prudent that President Akufo-Addo would opt for a new aircraft while an existing one is in a good condition and can transport him on long journeys.
Ablakwa believes the government is exposing Ghana as a country that has misplaced her priorities in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed over 1,100 Ghanaians.
“World Leaders are thinking about their citizens and how to revive their economies, but Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo is in hurry to buy an expensive jet at the expense of the poor people,” Ablakwa worryingly stated.
He added, “You are a president of a country that cannot secure vaccines for Ghanaians to attain herd immunity but you want to purchase a luxurious jet for yourself.”
Reacting to one of the reasons the government had given for the purchase of the jet that the Falcon 900 EXE had to stop for frequent refuelling whenever the president is travelling to Europe, Ablakwa noted that “the luxurious aircraft that the president has been hiring for his trips abroad usually land midway for refuelling.”
He said the justification by the Director of Communications for the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, was ridiculous and need not be brought into the discussion.
“See, since I became the Ranking Member for Foreign Affairs and started meeting with these international communities, I have realized that they are laughing at us.”
“They think we, as a country, have not set our priorities right. They are laughing at Ghana because at this time, we should be thinking about how to vaccinate the majority of the citizens against COVID-19 and how to revive the economy that has been affected by the pandemic,” he added.
The MP concluded that the Minority will not support the move when Parliament resumes and the agreement is brought to Parliament.