The Presidency on Friday released a communique to refute claims made by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, that President Akufo Addo spent €480,000.00 on current trip to Belgium and Rwanda beginning Sunday the 19th of June, 2022 to attend the 15th Edition of the European Development Days Forum in Brussels, Belgium, and the 26th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations in Kigali, Rwanda.

According to the Presidency, President Akufo-Addo did not travel to Belgium aboard a chartered Airbus ACJ319, as is being claimed by the North Tongu MP. But rather travelled to Belgium onboard an Air France Commercial Flight (AF0584), which departed Accra on Sunday at 7:20pm, made a stop-over in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and then continued to Paris. In fact, all of President Akufo-Addo’s 12-member delegation travelled commercial.

” The facts of the matter are as follows. President Akufo-Addo left Ghana on Sunday, 19th June 2022, to attend the 15th edition of the European Development Days Forum in Brussels, Belgium”.

”It is public knowledge that President Akufo-Addo DID NOT travel to Belgium aboard a chartered Airbus ACJ319, as is being claimed by the North Tongu MP”.

”The President travelled to Belgium onboard an Air France Commercial Flight (AF0584), which departed Accra on Sunday at 7:20pm, made a stop-over in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and then continued to Paris. In fact, all of President Akufo-Addo’s 12-member delegation travelled commercial” the statement said.

The statement continued that ” upon arrival in Paris, President Akufo-Addo and his delegation travelled via train to Brussels to attend the European Development Days event, where, on Tuesday, 21st June 2022, he was a keynote speaker, and later held meetings with the President of the European Investment Bank on two key subject areas – the financial assistance to Ghana for the Development Bank Ghana and for the construction of a vaccine manufacturing Plant in Ghana. He also held a meeting with His Excellency Charles Michel, President of the European Council, on matters of mutual interest, especially the ongoing terrorist activities in the Sahel”.

Due to the strike in the Belgium aviation sector, the Presidency said President Akufo-Addo had to travel via charter flight to Kigali because of flight cancellations.

“This was done to ensure that the President made it to Kigali on time to participate in the ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday, 23rd June, for the commencement of work on the Pan-African Vaccine Manufacturing Project, involving Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal and BioNTech SE, the German biotechnology company, as well as attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which also is being held in Kigali, Rwanda.”