SONA 2017: Akufo-Addo must be bold - Patrick Boamah

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Patrick Yaw Boamah, has urged President Akufo-Addo to boldly tell Ghanaians what the true State of the Nation (SONA) is.

Akufo-Addo will today deliver his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament amidst high expectations from Ghanaians.

Article 67 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution requires that: “The President shall, at the beginning of each session of Parliament and before the dissolution of Parliament, deliver to Parliament a message on the state of the nation.” Akufo-Addo, who assumed office on January 7, 2017, is the fifth president under the fourth Republic of Ghana.

Speaking with Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Tuesday , Mr. Boamah said he expects the president to highlight some of the things to be mentioned in the budget in March.

He said a he is expecting a statement which will relax the nerves of the private sector and also “tell Ghanaians what exactly he has inherited—to be honest, to be truthful, to be bold and not to hide anything from the good people of Ghana.”

On his part, Dr. Clement Apak urged the president to be apolitical in his address, warning that “if he tries to engage in some form of propaganda, then you can be sure we will also rise to the occasion to state the facts as we bequeathed to him.”