North Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has filed an urgent question under Order 64 of Parliament’s Standing Orders for the National Security Minister to appear before the House to give details on the May travel expenditure of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

This follows a response by Minister of Finance Kenneth Ofori-Atta, to whom the original question was directed, that Albert Kan Dapaah is best-placed to give details on the president’s travels.
Mr Ofori-Atta adduced that this year’s budget implementation instructions meant that no allocation was made to the Office of Government Machinery (OGM) for such a purpose.

But this Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa feels is an attempt to dodge the question and subject the presidency to transparency and accountability.
“Well, let me be clear – we won’t give up,” he wrote on Wednesday, July 21. “We won’t fret and we won’t relent.

“I have therefore immediately filed an urgent question under Order 64 of Parliament’s Standing Orders for the National Security Minister to appear before the House with a response.

“The palpably dishonest efforts to be evasive, elusive and engage in elaborate coverups under the latest guise of national security considerations would not be allowed to succeed.”

In his initial urgent question, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmaker had indicated that President Akufo-Addo spent £15,000 per hour on his trips to France, Belgium and South Africa using UK-based Acropolis Aviation’s jet when Ghana’s presidential jet was in a good condition.

Though the Defence Minister was in Parliament to give the reasons why the country went for that the world-class plane, Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa claims it is a waste of tax payers’ money.

“Let us imagine what GHS2.8million could do for our country, particularly considering the mess in multiple sectors which has led to legitimate #FixTheCountryNow agitations by the youth,” he had stated.