Defence deal: Akufo-Addo is not Mahama, take him as he is – John Jinapor

Deputy Chief of Staff, Samuel Abdu Jinapor has run to the defense of his ‘boss’, President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo after the latter received massive ‘lashing’ from sections of the public over his ‘livid demeanor’ during his address to the nation on the controversial US-Ghana defence deal Thursday.

The President appeared rather irked during his delivery and admitted he was outraged by the constant defamatory comments by his opponents whom he tagged as unspeakable hypocrites.

“Let me say how outraged I am by the defamatory comments from my political opponents, some of whose patriotism can be so easily questioned, that the sovereignty of this country has been sold by my government and myself. I will never be the President that will compromise or sell the sovereignty of our country. I respect deeply the memory of the great patriots whose sacrifice and toil brought about our independence and freedom”, he said.

Touching on the subject on Metro TV’s ‘Good Evening Ghana’ program, Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa described President Akufo-Addo as intolerable comparing him to Ex-President John Dramani Mahama who according to him held his composure and managed to smile and joke in several instances even in the face of gross criticisms and accusations.

Responding to Mr. Ablakwa’s comments on the same show, Mr. Jinapor maintained that both persons differ in all regards and hence it cannot be expected of President Akufo-Addo, what Ex-President John Mahama does and vice versa.

President Akufo-Addo’s frank and genuine nature he explained does not allow for him to ‘pretend’ to be nice when he actually is peeved about a situation as evident in Thursday evening’s delivery. Ghanaians ought to accept the entire package as it comes and appreciate his uniqueness he said.

“This is vintage Akufo-Addo, the point is that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is not President John Dramani Mahama. They are two different characters. Akufo-Addo has a different personality, he has a different DNA from President John Dramani Mahama. So he (referring to Ablakwa), makes the point that President Mahama, when people criticize, he laughs and he smiles. Akufo-Addo you take him as you find him.…..When you take him and you see white, you’ve got white, if you see black you’ve got black. He is real, he is unpretentious, he is genuine and he is a man of absolute integrity and credibility so this was Akufo-Addo you saw”, he stated.



According to Mr. Jinapor, President Akufo-Addo was justified in his utterances adding that he was merely calling the facts as they were. He explained that the President’s anger stemmed from the outrageous comments from the camp of the NDC targeted at defaming government and misleading Ghanaians all to their favor when the same deal by the NDC government in 2015 was shrouded in shadiness and secrecy.

“He is outraged by frontline politicians who signed a defense cooperation agreement in 1998 in which they incorporated the Vienna Convention of 1961 which Vienna Convention essentially grants almost all the privileges that the 2018 agreement grants US military officers, he is outraged by front-line politicians who indeed in 2015 got into an agreement with the United States for the United States to use Ghana as a base to launch military operations to Nigeria. President Akufo-Addo is outraged by front-line politicians who mischievously mislead the people when they when they were in power, under the power of darkness signed the agreement to allow tax exemptions to the United States in similar fashion as has been done in the 2018 agreement. The significance is the casualness with which these arrangements were entered into”



“There is no record in the cabinet secretariat which was reached by President Mahama and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for an airforce base to be established which has become a subject matter of the 2018 agreement, there’s no record at the cabinet secretariat that President Mahama’s government discussed it, that’s the point I’m making”, he indicated.

President Akufo-Addo in a televised broadcast Thursday evening broke the long silence on the controversial US military agreement. While affirming his commitment to uphold the sovereignty and independence of Ghana, he also lashed out at members of the NDC who he says are ‘running with the hares and hunting with the hounds’ in a matter that has left the country divided.



“So let me state with the clearest affirmation that Ghana has not offered a military base, and will not offer a military base to the United States of America. Indeed, the United States of America has not made any request for such consideration and, consistent with our established foreign policy, we will not consider any such request. However, in consideration of the realities of our circumstances and the challenges to peace in our region in our time, we have deemed it prudent to continue the Co-operation Agreement with the United States of America. It is our firm belief that the Agreement will help enhance our defence capability, and offer an important layer of support in our common effort to protect the peace in our region”

“Fellow Ghanaians, let me conclude by saying how outraged I am by the defamatory comments from my political opponents, some of whose patriotism can be so easily questioned, that the sovereignty of this country has been sold by my government and myself. I will never be the President that will compromise or sell the sovereignty of our country. I respect deeply the memory of the great patriots whose sacrifice and toil brought about our independence and freedom. I have stood with you, the Ghanaian people, all my adult life, fighting for our individual and collective rights. Everything I have done, since assuming the great honour and privilege of serving you as President of the Republic, demonstrates that I remain focused on building a self-reliant, free, prosperous Ghana, which will be able to make her own unique contribution to the growth and development of Africa and the world”, he stated.