President John Evans Atta Mills on Tuesday, September 13th, left Accra for New York to attend the 66th Session of General Assembly of the United Nations.
As part of the itinerary, President Atta Mills will address the General Assembly, and also be the Special Guest at a forum organised by the New York Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), which is made up of over 150 top companies in the United States.
Just before he emplaned for the United States of America, President Mills, who was seen off by the Vice-President, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, and some government officials, went through a security scan at the Kotoka International Airport. Officials who were travelling with the President also went through the same security check at the airport.
It would be recalled that in May 2009, the President subjected himself to a body search at the KIA en route to the United Kingdom for a three-day official visit at the instance of the Queen of England; an act he explained was to demonstrate his serious commitment to the fight against illicit drugs trade.
Indeed, delivering his 3rd State of the Nation Address at the Parliament House in Accra, President Mills was full of praise for his administration in the fight against the drug menace in the country.
He said, �in my first year as president, I pledged to wage a concerted and religious war against the drug menace. Two years into our administration, I think we can say that we have acquitted ourselves very well in this regard�I have no regrets subjecting myself to a body check at the Kotoka International Airport. This is the surest way to lead by example and also to energize the NACOB officials not to be intimidated by any officials or people who hold themselves up to be so�.
But a state-owned newspaper, the Ghanaian Times, reported in April 2011 that some unnamed top government officials have refused to obey the directive and would not allow themselves to be searched.
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