Irene Opare Tearfully Begs President Mahama to Look Her Way After Years of Party Support

• Veteran Ghanaian actress Irene Opare made an emotional appeal to President John Dramani Mahama in an interview circulating online on September 2, 2026
• Irene Opare revealed her decades-long association with the party, tracing it back to the PNDC era under the late President Jerry John Rawlings
• The 60-year-old actress also called on the government to support aging actors while they are still healthy and able to work

Veteran Ghanaian actress Irene Opare broke down in tears as she appealed directly to President John Dramani Mahama, saying she feels overlooked despite decades of loyalty to the party he leads.

Excerpts from an interview with Nkonkonsa began circulating on September 2, 2026, in which the actress spoke candidly about her sense of abandonment.

Her connection to the party stretches back to the PNDC era, when she performed dances before speeches by the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, making her association with the movement one that spans generations of Ghanaian political history.

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Irene Opare's Plea to President Mahama

Despite that history, Opare says she has not received the recognition she feels she deserves. In her own words, she captured the feeling simply and painfully:

"All I want to say is, please turn your face and look at me. I'm standing right behind you. Just turn and look at me."

The 60-year-old made clear she is not asking out of weakness. She stressed that she remains physically capable and eager to work, and that is precisely when support matters most.

Irene Opare Calls for Support for Ageing Actors

Beyond her personal situation, Opare used the interview to raise a broader concern about how the government treats veteran entertainers. She pointed out that assistance tends to arrive only when actors and actresses are already bedridden or on the verge of death, arguing that this approach gets the timing entirely wrong.

"They do a lot of things for us, but they should not wait for us to get sick. Most of the time, they go, they are in their sickbed, and then the government or these big people go there to pay the hospital bills or help them. They should not wait for us to get sick or die and then pay for the funeral," she said.

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Irene Opare emotionally appeals to Mahama: “Please turn and look at me”

She went further, arguing that proactive support could actually prevent illness in the first place.

"If you take care of us whilst we are strong, and then we are getting something to do, we might not even fall sick because sickness comes for everyone... Help us when we are alive. Help us when we are strong enough to work. Not when I'm lying down sick," she added.

Her appeal lands at a moment when the welfare of Ghana's veteran entertainers remains a recurring conversation, with many industry figures having passed away or fallen ill in circumstances that only drew public attention after their health had already deteriorated significantly.

Watch the Instagram video below:

Source: YEN.com.gh