Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, has denied the Presidency hired a rickety bus for journalists to accompany President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on his tour in the Northern Region
This comes after the 207 Benz bus with registration number AW-6353-11 that was carrying the journalists broke down on Wednesday, October 4 in the middle of a journey to Bawku through to Garu, leaving the journalists stranded.
The Chairman of the Upper East Regional Chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association, Eric Amoh, told a local radio station that the journalists should have rejected the bus before the President’s convoy set off.
But Mr Hamid said the bus in question and stranded journalists were not part of the official presidential press team.
In a statement, the President’s spokesperson said: “The vehicle that broke down was not the vehicle that was hired for journalists in the region by the Director of Communications at the Presidency. The Director of Communication has a dedicated corps of journalists in every region who cover presidential trips. In the Upper West Region, they were transported in a Nissan Coaster bus. In the Upper East Region they were given a Hyundai H1 bus.
“The group of journalists who are said to have been stranded were not part of the official presidential press team. Apparently, the Public Relations Officer of the Regional Co-ordinating Council, Godwin Nkunu, hired this bus for some other journalists chosen by him and unknown to the Presidential Communication team.”
Mr Hamid further explained that he merely chanced upon their broken down vehicle because he attended hospital and, therefore, did not join the official convoy.
The stranded journalists were in the company of Mr Nkunu, who was at that time making calls to get them another vehicle. “Even so, the Minister stopped and also asked that a vehicle be procured from Bolga to pick them up. But, the journalists themselves said that it will be difficult to get any good vehicle in Bolga at the time. The Minister, who had room in his vehicle for three people, picked three journalists and proceeded while instructing the PRO of the RCC (Godwin Nkunu) to stay and find a vehicle for them to catch up with the Presidential team,” the statement added.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
