The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul has disclosed that President Akufo-Addo would in the next four months use commercial flights for his travels.
According to the Defence Minister, the presidential jet is due for repair works and would be flown to France to be worked on.
He indicated that it will be in France until at least October, 2022.
“By the end of this month, we will not have a presidential jet because the one we have is going to France for re-service; it’s one of the reasons the President will not use it for four to five months,” he said in an interview with JoyNews.
Responding to a question about the president not using the presidential jet, Mr. Dominic Nitiwul said that the President has been using the presidential jet for travels within Africa and West Africa.
He declared that “we only advised the President not to use it for very long journeys but all the movements within Africa, all the short movements within West Africa, that’s the plane the President uses.”
President Akufo-Addo has come under immense criticism for neglecting the presidential jet for a luxurious private jet for his foreign trips.
The Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Okudzeto Ablakwa, has on a number times alleged that the president is wasting the tax payer’s monies on chattering luxurious planes.
On February 12, this year, he alleged that the President spent over GH¢4 million on his 10-day trip to some European countries and Guyana.
In May, 2021, Mr. Ablakwa also claimed that the nation paid £15,000 an hour for the president’s luxurious aircraft on his travels to France, Belgium and South Africa.
