Was Prof. Naana Jane supposed to return home in a Sprinter bus? — Kwame Danso on private jet criticisms

Lawyer Kwame Owusu Danso, a running mate of independent presidential candidate Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen in the 2024 elections, has dismissed criticisms over the use of a private jet by Vice President Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang.

The Vice President returned to Ghana on Thursday, May 22, after a two-month medical trip to the United Kingdom.

The Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, alleged in a social media post that the chartered flight used by the Vice President cost the state over $170,000—an amount he argued was inappropriate amid Ghana’s economic difficulties.

But responding to the criticism in an interview on Accra-based Pan Africa TV on Friday, May 23, Kwame Danso, who is also the husband of the Vice President’s Press Secretary, Ama Pratt, described the claims as baseless and unreasonable.

“Some people in the NPP have been saying that the Vice President flew in with a private jet. So I wonder—did they want her to fly in with STC? Did they want the Vice President to return home to us on an OA bus? Or perhaps they expected her to come back in a sprinter bus? She’s the Vice President, for crying out loud,” he stated.

Kwame Danso questioned the basis of the accusations, pointing out that there was no clear evidence the flight was funded by the government.

“What is the evidence that she even paid from government funds? Ibrahim Mahama has a private jet, and in her appreciation, she singled him out for the many things he did while she was admitted in the UK. Ibrahim Mahama even flew to the United Kingdom to be by her side—and that in itself was healing,” he added.

He further alleged that members of the previous NPP government had, in the past, chartered flights for less justifiable reasons.

“When you [NPP] were in government, you had people who were flying from Ghana to watch Arsenal and Manchester play on the weekend. They would fly out and fly back. Were those people more human than the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana? Some even flew out just to buy pizza and returned the same day,” he alleged.