Dr. Kabiru Mahama, a technical advisor at the Office of the Vice President, has explained why President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo does not travel overseas with his presidential chair.
In recent years, the chair’s notoriety has grown thanks to the fact that it has accompanied President Akufo-Addo to almost every event he has attended in his capacity as Ghana’s leader.
National Democratic Party (NDP) officials have often alleged that a V8 is reserved specifically for the chair’s transportation.
Dr. Mahama refuted the allegation, saying it was false and an example of the NDC using the situation for political gain.
“This propaganda about this presidential chair ought to stop because we know that the president goes with his handlers and presidential staffers. If a president for national security reasons…” he stressed on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme, November 1, 2022.
When asked by host Randy Abbey if he was “justifying taking a special chair to a radio studio,” Dr. Mahama responded:
“I am justifying the fact that what the president eats, what the president wears, what the president sits on must be checked made against the National Security standards.
Pushed about why the same standards are not applied when Akufo-Addo travels outside the country, he responded: “Let me tell you why it may not be applicable outside Ghana, one; systems elsewhere are different.”
He cited the example of the American president, Joe Biden, when he went to the Queen’s funeral, with his own fleet. “That’s the American system,” Dr. Mahama stressed adding that the US being in economic difficulties would not mean they lower their security standards.
“To suggest that this chair is having its own car and is being fueled when it can easily be placed in the boot of a car and go anywhere they want, you try to make a lot of noise about it,” he added.
Dr. Kabiru Mahama clears the air on @NAkufoAddo's Presidential chair#GoodMorningGhana pic.twitter.com/rBYrQwxYTJ
— Metropolitan Television (@metrotvgh) November 1, 2022