Should Akufo-Addo travel in a 'trotro' abroad? - NPP man jabs

A communication team member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwesi Botchwey has taken a swipe at Okudzeto Ablakwa, the MP for North Tongu asking him if he expected President Akufo-Addo to have travelled in a trotro abroad.

The NDC MP has alleged that President Akufo-Addo has abandoned the state airplane and chartered a top-of-the-range luxury aircraft offered by Acropolis Aviation.

He is claiming that the President has spent an amount of 2.8 million for an accumulated trip of 23 hours.

“The Airbus ACJ320neo owned by Acropolis Aviation based in Farnborough, UK, and registered as G-KELT is the most luxurious and the most expensive in the Acropolis fleet. The manufacturers describe it as “the most outstanding ambassador for Airbus Corporate Jets.” It costs the Ghanaian taxpayer approximately £15,000 an hour when President Akufo-Addo rents it.

The aircraft in issue is less than two years old and had only returned from Switzerland where it received the highest luxurious spruce up ever known in the aviation world just before President Akufo-Addo chose that particular luxurious monster. The jet can take up to 150 people in ordinary circumstances, however, it has been configured to accommodate only 17 royal passengers. The spectacularly opulent aircraft comes equipped with a lavish master bedroom, an imposing en-suite bathroom, monarchial dining facilities, and round-the-clock IT connectivity.”

But reacting to these allegations, he said the state-owned presidential jet is faulty, and the President has been advised not to travel in it.

He recounted a near-crash situation in 2019 when the President was on the plane to argue his case.

He disclosed that there was a plan for the state to purchase a new jet, but the country is not in a position to buy a new jet.

"And so let us rent another jet that the safety of our President and the dignitaries he is going with would be assured. We cannot trade the safety of our President for anything,” he added.

He told Kwabena Agyapong on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm that the NDC lacks the moral right to comment on the issue.

"The hypocrisy of the NDC is legendary. They have no moral right to comment. Do they expect Nana Addo to travel from Accra in a trotro abroad? Should he travel on a bicycle?”