Akufo-Addo should fly Emirates if he wants to shower in the sky - Ablakwa tells Nitiwul
- The minister for defense justified President Akufo-Addo's usage of the private jet for his trips abroad
- This justification comes after the president was accused of spending GHC2.8million on the trips
- Dominic Nitiwul indicated that the president cannot even take his shower on the Falcon
- Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa dismissed the explanation as absurd
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The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has dismissed Dominic Nitiwul’s spirited defense of President Akufo-Addo's “outrageous” expenses during a recent foreign trip.
Source: UGC
Ablakwa who is the ranking member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee accused the president of spending a whopping GHC2.8million during his trips to South Africa and France.
Akufo-Addo used the services of a private jet, Airbus ACJ320neo which is owned by Acropolis Aviation based in Farnborough, UK, and registered as G-KELT.
It is the most luxurious and the most expensive in the Acropolis fleet.
The NDC MP said renting the jet caused the Ghanaian taxpayer approximately £15,000 an hour in a Facebook post sighted by YEN.com.gh.
Justification
The Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, justified the president’s usage of the private jet for his trips abroad.
He said the safety of Akufo-Addo must be the ultimate factor in deciding the type of aircraft he uses for his trips abroad.
Answering questions on the floor of parliament, he said the current presidential jet has many challenges such as the limited passengers it can carry, the number of times required for refueling on a trip, and luggage capacity among others.
He further added that the president cannot even take his shower on the aircraft. “In fact, the president would also have to go a day ahead because no president can shower in this aircraft. He cannot move from this aircraft straight into a meeting.”
Cheeky response
But in his response, Ablakwa described the explanation by the Defense Minister as ludicrous.
He argued that the president has so many options if he thinks the Falcon is not big enough.
Touching on the shower bit, Ablakwa stated: “If it’s about showers in the sky I’ve told you it’s Emirates first class and nobody will really be angry that our President has traveled first class, it’s the office we respect him, he must be comfortable. So, you can travel first class and it will be far cheaper, we’ll not spend anywhere near even 10% of this £15,000 an hour for an aircraft. Even if you want to charter there are bigger aircraft at far less a cost, there are cheaper options available than this.”
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Source: YEN.com.gh
