Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has denied claims by Professor Stephen Adei to the effect that he (Bawumia) travels in a convoy of not less than 16 vehicles.
Prof Adei, former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), sometime last week, alleged that during the vice president’s recent trip to Cape Coast in the Central Region where he donated a bus to St Augustine’s College and later gave a public lecture at the University of Cape Coast, he counted not less than 16 Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) in Bawumia’s convoy, thereby raising eyebrows about ostentatious lifestyle.
A statement issued by the Office of the Vice President and signed by the Director of Communications, Frank Agyei-Twum, maintained, “The Office would like to make it clear that the Vice President and his team use a maximum of 7 vehicles on trips outside Accra and not 16.
“The 7 vehicles include a leading police vehicle, security detail, Protocol, the media team and an ambulance.”
On the particular trip to Cape Coast, the statement stressed, “The Vice President used a total of 7 cars.
“It should, however, be noted that on many occasions (including funerals) while on a trip, several other people, including the Police Commander of the area, Ministers, MPs, MMDCEs, CEOs and party officials may decide to meet and accompany the Vice President on arrival,” Mr Agyei-Twum explained.
It therefore stands to reason that not all the vehicles seen accompanying or following the president or the vice president’s convoy are necessarily part of the fleet.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent