Akufo-Addo didn't buy new vehicles during his first term - Abu Jinapor

Former Lands and Natural Resources Minister Samuel Abu Jinapor has challenged suggestions that President John Dramani Mahama's directive to halt the purchase of new government vehicles is unprecedented.

According to him, a similar measure was implemented during the first term of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Akufo-Addo has not bought new vehicles, he’s using his personal cars - Eugene Arhin

Speaking on Joy News' PM Express on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, Abu Jinapor said the Akufo-Addo administration imposed a strict moratorium on vehicle acquisitions across government institutions as part of efforts to control public expenditure.

According to him, the policy extended even to the Presidency, where Akufo-Addo continued to use a personal vehicle for several years after assuming office.

"President Akufo-Addo, throughout, I think his first term into the sixth year, used his personal car," he said.

Abu Jinapor recalled that the former president relied on a Mercedes-Benz he had used while serving as opposition leader and resisted calls to replace it.

"In fact, it got to a point where they literally had to conspire to put him in a new car because the car was not fit for purpose," he stated.

The former minister, who served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Presidency, said no vehicles were purchased at Jubilee House during Akufo-Addo's first four years in office.

"During the whole first term of President Akufo-Addo, not a single car was bought at Jubilee House. I was Deputy Chief of Staff," he recounted.

He further disclosed that the restriction was not limited to the Presidency but was applied across the entire government machinery through an official directive.

"For the first four years, no vehicles were bought. So this, it's all good. President Mahama says Don't buy new cars, cost-cutting. He's done well. It's fine. But it's not unprecedented. It happened in President Akufo-Addo's first term," Abu Jinapor argued.

His comments come amid ongoing public discussions about government expenditure and efforts by the Mahama administration to reduce costs through restrictions on the purchase of official vehicles.

While acknowledging the current government's cost-cutting initiative, Abu Jinapor maintained that such measures have historical precedent and should not be portrayed as a new approach to fiscal discipline.

NA/JKB

AROUND TOWN: Ghanaians share their struggles with rising cost of rent