President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has summoned the Minister for Trade and Industry Alan Kyerematen over some monies charged before some expats were allowed to sit beside him on a table at a recent awards event held in Accra.

Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications at the Presidency told Starr News that the Trade Minister has until 5pm Wednesday, December 20, to fully furnish the presidency with all the details concerning how and why the monies were charged.

According to Arhin, the president would not have attended the event if he was aware that monies were being charged from the expatriates.

“If he [Akufo-Addo) wasn’t concerned about this issue he would not have called the minister for Trade and Industry to furnish him with details of what happened,” Arhin told Kwaku Obeng Adjei Wednesday.

This latest move comes after claims that foreign business owners were charged as much as $100,000 to sit close to the president at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards (GEBA).

The claim was first made by NDC MP for Asawase Muntaka Mubarak in Parliament. The Trade Ministry has, however, explained it was not responsible for the supposed charges that expatriate businesses paid.

According to the ministry, “the GEBA was the brainchild of the Millennium Excellence Foundation, an entity noted for its prowess and credibility in the organization of world-class events such as the Millennium Excellence Awards and the Accra Marathon.

The claims led to near fisticuffs in Parliament on Tuesday between former deputy Education minister Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa and deputy minister for Trade Carlos Ahenkora, who signed the controversial document.

The Minority is demanding that the monies must be refunded to the companies while several anti-corruption campaigners have called for an independent probe into the issue.