A New Patriotic Party (NPP) Deputy National Communications Director, Kamal-Deen Abdullai, has explained that the chair President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo sits on at public events is transported across the country for security reasons.
Speaking in a Good Morning Ghana panel discussion, which was monitored by GhanaWeb on Wednesday (November 9), Kamal-Deen said that he is surprised that the government is being criticised for transporting Akufo-Addo’s chair to events because his predecessor, John Dramani Mahama, did same.
“The first time I saw a president having his chair carried with him to a function was under President Mahama. We went for a programme in Winneba, this Ahmadiyya programme, by then I was the NASARA coordinator. He (Mahama) was invited but we got there before they came.
“When he (Mahama) arrived there was this chair wrapped in a black leader brought out from a vehicle, put there for him to come and sit on… I asked a question and I was told it is for security reasons.
“How is that different from the chair being carried today? The president is supposed to be handled by security apparatus; an understanding is reached that this is how we are going to handle you. You don’t just go anywhere in this country and sit on any chair,” he said.
Veteran Journalist Kwesi Pratt Jnr, who was one of the panellists, bemoaned the justification given by the NPP communicator.
Pratt said that the explanation given by Kamal-Deen tells that even though the NPP criticised Mahama so much, they like doing the same things they criticized him for.
Watch the panel discussion below: