A former Member of Parliament for Kade Constituency, Ofosu Asamoah, has questioned why the late Dr Samuel Sarpong was on the military aircraft heading to Obuasi for a State event on small-scale mining.

According to the member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Samuel Sarpong, who before his untimely death was the First National Vice Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), was neither a minister, military personnel or a an employee of any identifiable government institution.

The former Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission, in a panel discussion on Channel One TV, said since Dr Sarpong was not a member of the aforementioned agencies, he shouldn't have been on the military aircraft that crashed on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, at Adansi Akrofoum in the Ashanti Region.

"This will be very controversial but Dr Sarpong, he was not a Minister of State, he is not a serving officer of the Armed Forces, he is not an employee of NADMO or any identifiable government institution except that he is a party chairman.

"I understand that even in my party, it happened when the president was travelling and party wanted to join him. But in the circumstance, who takes care of him in the aftermath of something. So, as for him (Dr Sarpong) this is very controversial," Ofosu Asamoah said on Channel One TV.

In a further attempt to explain his point of view, he added that; "When a commercial bus crashes, non-paying or unauthorised passengers are not covered by insurance.”

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Dr Samuel Sarpong was part of the 8 people who lost their lives in the helicopter crash on August 6.

The victims included Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah; Minister of Environment, Science, and Technology and MP for Tamale Central, Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed; Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator, Alhaji Limuna Mohammed Muniru and Deputy Director-General of NADMO, Samuel Aboagye.

Also aboard were Squadron Leader Peter Baafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manaen Twum Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.

The eight have been laid to rest.

“When a commercial bus crashes, non-paying or unauthorized passengers are not covered by insurance.”
– Former MP for Kade, Ofosu Asamoah, questions why the late Dr. Sarpong was on the military aircraft and why the state must set up a fund for his family.

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— CITI FM 97.3 (@Citi973) August 16, 2025