…Cover-up attempt by Joy News backfires
President Akufo-Addo’s expensive tastes for private jets in his foreign travels were indulged again in his latest trip to Glasgow where he is attending the World Leaders’ Summit of the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP 26).
This is according to North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa who has revealed that the UK’s Mail online monitored the arrival of Heads of State to the summit and reported that Ghana’s president is about the only one who arrived on a private jet
“Reporters at the UK’s Mail Online took keen interest in how Presidents arrived in Glasgow for COP26. Instructively, their monitoring reveals that the Namibian President, Hage Geingob has kept faith with Namibia’s 30-year-old presidential jet which is also a Falcon albeit a much older version when compared to Ghana’s Falcon, “ Ablakwa stated.
“US President Joe Biden was happy to show off his 31-year-old Air Force One. The French President, Emmanuel Macron remains loyal to his presidential jet-Cotam 001 which was commissioned in 2010 — same year as Ghana’s…Unfortunately for us, our iconic Ghana flag was conspicuously missing at the Glasgow parade,” Ablakwa wrote.
According to him, the president traveled in the private jet while the official presidential jet, had been left idle since it arrived from Praia, Cape Verde on 29th October 2021 at 1:39pm.
Describing the President’s expensive flamboyance as “sybaritic” he pointed out that it was rather an antithesis for Ghana because environmental campaigners at the summit regard private jets as not being environmentally friendly.
“Environmental campaigners have slammed the use of private jets to the summit describing them as bad news for the environment. The average private jet emits two tons of CO2 for every hour in flight. To environmentalists and climate experts, it is the worst way to travel by miles,” Ablakwa noted.“There can be no virtue or exemplary conduct at this time of climate crisis by expanding fleets with obscenely luxurious chartered aircraft when you own a US$37.5million presidential jet in great condition as is the embarrassing case of Ghana,” Ablakwa wrote.
A couple of months back it was revealed that the President had blown over Ghc10million on private jet cruises for his travels, with some of the jets rented at a whopping US$14,000 per hour.
In response to criticism, presidential spokesman, Eugene Arhin, had first misinformed the public that the President had not been riding on private jets only for Defense Ministry to come and explain to Parliament that the President opted for the private jet because the presidential jet is lacking in accessories, including bathrooms.
This caused massive outrage from the Ghanaian public.
However, barely a month after his first controversial charter of one of the world’s most ex[pensive private jets, President Akufo Addo hired the jetliner two more times amidst public disapproval.
Ablakwa calls the President’s continued use of chartered flights in spite of complaints from Ghanaians as disrespectful.
“Sadly, we in Ghana are not only grappling with the effects of carbon emissions, but we also have to equally contend with reckless taxpayer emissions to satisfy the creature comforts of an unrestrained President who has become the most obstinate and disrespectful of the Ghanaian people in our entire nation’s history,” says Ablakwa.
Meanwhile, Accra-based Joy News’ report of the President’s travel to Glasgow created the impression he had traveled on the Presidential jet.
A photo of the President’s parting salute used by JoyNews captures him standing in the passenger door of the Falcon and waving.
It has emerged that the president never traveled on the falcon, but a luxurious private jet.