Praise to pillory: Haruna Iddrisu blows hot and cold over Akufo-Addo’s Qatar trip

Haruna Iddrisu on November 25, 2022 was full of praise for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who 24 hours prior had traveled to meet the Black Stars in Qatar where the 2022 World Cup is ongoing.

For the Minority Leader, the president took the right decision by meeting the team before the game against Portugal, the team's first match at the mundial.

“It was encouraging the president is in camp with our players, that is the best motivation they could get,” Mr Haruna Iddrisu said.

Haruna was contributing to a statement on the floor of Parliament, a day after the team suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Portugal.

Haruna emphasized that the gesture by Nana Addo was encouraging and showed the love of the country to the players.

Haruna slams Akufo-Addo and appointees for attending World Cup

On Monday, December 2, 2022, barely two weeks after praising the president, Haruna led a Minority Caucus press conference in Parliament where they chastised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for travelling to Qatar to watch the Black Stars.

Haruna said it was particularly concerning that Akufo-Addo opted to travel despite the economic difficulties the country is faced with.

He said the decision to travel was ill advised criticising same of other colleague MPs and Ministers who were spotted in Qatar at a time the 2023 budget debate was ongoing.

“We’re particularly stunned that the President himself joined even as he’s managing a major economic crisis. As if a better performance of the Black Stars contributed to addressing this economic mess”, Haruna submitted.

Akufo-Addo’s trip to Qatar

Akufo-Addo flew commercial, arriving in Doha on November 24 before meeting the Ghana contingent at their base ahead of their first Group H game against Portugal.

The travel divided public opinion with a school of thought holding that at a time of great austerity, it would have been prudent the President used virtual means to motivate the team. Others held that it was key to meet the team in-person.

The team after losing to Portugal, beat South Korea by 3 - 2 before losing their final group game to Uruguay and with that crushing out of the tournament with five goals scored, seven conceded and three points to finish bottom of Group H.

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