Why Exclude Akua Donkor�s Name From Media Release � NPP

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is demanding answers from the government concerning the omission of Akua Donkor’s name from the list of persons accompanying the President on his trip to Italy.

The NPP’s Deputy Director of Communication, Anthony Karbo clarified that the party has no problem with the leader of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP) embarking on the trip with the President.

Their only concern is why her name was not in the statement of delegation released to the media ahead of the trip.

“It is the President’s right to travel with whoever he so wishes will be of some benefit to his international trip to which I’m not sure the NPP as a political party has concerns about why the President traveled with Madam Akua Donkor.

“I don’t think that there are any critical issues to be raised there. The only thing which appears to be a major concern to the Ghanaian people is that when the President was traveling and his statement of delegation which was made public, we didn’t see Madam Akua Donkor’s name captured as one of the key personalities accompanying the President on such an important international trip,” he said.

There has been public outrage over the President’s decision to include Akua Donkor in the delegation that accompanied him to Italy last week.

Photos of Akua Donkor among the presidential entourage which were published by the Flagstaff House Communications Bureau have gone viral on social media.

The GFP flagbearer in response to her critics said she traveled with the President because she is one of his special advisors and a trusted friend.

The NPP however believes since the trip was to look out for new technologies in agro-processing, it would have been prudent for key experts in that sector, as well as industry players to accompany the President.

The few who have defended Akua Donkor backed their arguments with the fact that the GFP leader is a farmer but the NPP insists, even so, the National Farmers’ Association President should have gone in her place if that is truly the reason why she was taken on the trip.

“I am not too sure of the contribution of Akua Donkor. If she is just a farmer, the President could have traveled with the National Farmers’ Association President who would have represented farmers in that way so it raises questions about how these presidential trips are organized…it raises questions on how and who sponsored her trip.”