SoNA 2021: Your address was silent on LGBTQ+, poll killings, debt stock – Haruna Iddrisu to Akufo-Addo

Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu has slammed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for not telling Ghanaians the country’s current debt stock in his first State of the Nation’s Address (SoNA) of his second term delivered on Tuesday, 9 March 2021 before parliament.

President Akufo-Addo, while delivering the address, described his government as “good managers of the economy and we are good protectors of the public purse”, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reacting to the address, Mr Iddrisu wondered why the state of the country’s debt was left out of the President’s address.

The Tamale South MP told parliament while seconding a motion by majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu to suspend the sitting that: “Mr Speaker, what is interesting is that we will debate this state of the nation and we will debate the president’s record but today, interestingly, he’s silent on our national debt. Four years ago, he said he inherited this debt, what is the state of our national debt?”

Touching on media freedom, Mr Iddrisu noted: “He [Akufo-Addo] himself said he contributed to enhancing media freedom with the repeal of the criminal libel law but under his watch freedom of expression has been fractured and hampered with the closure of FM stations”.

Mr Iddrisu also bemoaned the fact that the President’s address was silent on the issue of LGBT+ and was also silent on the December 7 election killings.

He noted that the Minority will continue to fight for justice for those who lost their lives during the December 7 2020 polls.