The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Rev John Ntim Fordjour, has called on the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) to render an “unqualified apology” to former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the people of Ghana for what he describes as the party’s longstanding opposition to critical investments in the Ghana Armed Forces, particularly the Ghana Air Force.

In a statement issued on Thursday, December 4, 2025, the Assin South MP revisited events from 2008, when then-President John Agyekum Kufuor initiated the procurement of two presidential jets for the Ghana Air Force, making an initial payment of US$38 million.

Rev Ntim Fordjour noted that when the NDC assumed office in 2009 under the late President John Evans Atta Mills, the administration cancelled the agreement and opted instead to acquire only one Falcon 900EX.

According to him, that decision marked the beginning of a pattern of “politicised resistance” by the NDC toward defence-related expenditure a trend he believes continued during President Akufo-Addo’s tenure from 2017 to 2025, when efforts were made to retool and modernise the military.

Rev Ntim Fordjour argued that the same NDC that resisted Akufo-Addo’s retooling agenda is now seeking to undertake a major Air Force revitalisation programme, as outlined in the 2026 Budget presented by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson on November 13, 2025.

The budget announced plans to procure four modern helicopters, one long-range aircraft and one medium-range aircraft beginning in 2026, aimed at replacing the country’s severely depleted fleet, which has now been reduced to just one operational military aircraft.

While the initiative has been broadly welcomed, some opposition voices have accused the NDC of inconsistency, criticising the Akufo-Addo administration for similar proposals, only to pursue the same agenda now that it is in government.

Rev Ntim Fordjour stated that, unlike the NDC in previous years, the current NPP Minority will support the procurement process without politicisation.

“Today, we NPP MPs in opposition — the Mighty Minority take the moral high ground to support the acquisition of aircraft for the Ghana Air Force,” he said.

“We will not politicise nor oppose what is right for the state and the Air Force.”

He insisted that the NDC must apologise for what he described as actions that undermined Ghana’s defence capacity.

“We urge the NDC government to apologise to Ghanaians and President Akufo-Addo for opposing investment into the Air Force,” he added.

The debate over military retooling has intensified as Parliament prepares to consider defence-related provisions in the 2026 Budget, with both sides trading accusations over past and present commitments to national security.

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