Some of the actions of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during his maiden State of the Nation Address (SONA) were more of a flagbearer rather than a president, Greater Accra Regional Organiser of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anthony Nukpenu has stated.
According to him, President Akufo-Addo seems to have forgotten that he is now the leader of Ghana and not his New Patriotic Party (NPP) and still goes about official duties like the inspection of guard of honour with 'private security personnel' following him.
Speaking on Asempa FM's Ekosii Sem om Friday, he said "it is very wrong for the President's private security personnel to be following on state functions like the SONA especially when he is inspecting the guard of honour".
"As the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, his security arrangements on such official occasions should be the mandate of the military and national security. All private security personnel and plain-clothed security stand aside. The only person who follows the president apart from the CDS [Chief of Defence Staff] is his ADC [Aide-de-Camp]", he explained.
On the substance of the SONA, the NDC Greater Accra Regional Organiser was of the opinion that President Akufo-Addo dabbled in too much propaganda, picking and choosing what information he deemed favourable to him.
"In as much as he admitted liabilities of the state, he should have touched on assets that were left for him that is why some of us are saying that he is still acting and behaving like a flagbearer", he stated.
President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday delivered his first SoNAÂ at the Parliament House in Accra with a promise that though his predecessor handed over a severely challenged economy, he was going to fix it and improve the lots of Ghanaians.
Highlighting the state of Ghana's economy, he disclosed that the fiscal indiscipline of the previous government had led Ghana to a situation where its total "debt stock now stands at 74% of GDP".
"I say nothing new or dramatic, when I tell this Honourable House that the economy of our country is in a bad way. The reality of the state Ghana’s public finances today are quite stark but "I was not elected to complain, I was elected to get things done", he told Parliament.
However, for Mr Nukpenu, this statement shows clearly an attempt by current government to discredit the previous government because former President John Mahama had in his last address as President hinted of the situation and promised bouncing back.
"[Former] President Mahama gave these statistics and hinted an upcoming buoyancy for the economy so to come and lament in Parliament as if ghana is in a hopeless state and turn around to say you are not going to complain is very unfortunate", he stated, adding that, "it betrays the level of dishonesty in his [Akufo-Addo] statement" and it makes some of us believe that he [Akufo-Addo] is "being fed by what the Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia had told him during the campaign".
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