NPP Director of Communications Dennis Miracles Aboagye has reminded Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa of his previous pledge to resign if a government he served hired or used a private jet, arguing that the minister should be held to the standard he set while in opposition.

Aboagye said Ghanaians were entitled to question the minister over the use of chartered aircraft for the South Africa evacuation because his earlier public statements had created expectations about how he would conduct himself in government.

“You said that if your government comes to office, if you’re a minister in a government that hires a private jet or uses a private jet to travel, you resign,” he said.

“So, if people vote for your government and you become a cabinet minister and all of a sudden your government is moving around the world with private jets and you haven’t resigned, they have no right to call you out?”

He rejected suggestions that the criticism was simply an attempt to target Ablakwa, saying public officials should be assessed against the positions they took before assuming office.

Aboagye also referred to the minister’s previous criticism of the cost of presidential aircraft remaining on the tarmac during foreign trips, arguing that the same scrutiny should apply to the current evacuation expenditure.

He said the NPP was seeking accountability for the reported spending and disclosed that about Ghc16.1 million remained unaccounted for, with approximately Ghc14 million of that amount linked to the chartered flights.

“16.1 million has not been accounted for. Yes,” he said when asked to confirm the outstanding amount.