Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah quickly jumped into damage control mode after a seeming slip of the tongue from President Nana Akufo-Addo over the issue of Aisha Huang.
The President during an interview on his current tour of the Volta Region said he is still not sure to this day if Aisha Huang was actually deported in 2018.
“…I am not still sure whether she was, in fact, deported or whether she fled the country the first time and has now come back or whatever. There still seems to be some uncertainty about it,” Akufo-Addo said during an interview with Stone City Radio in Ho.
“Whichever way it is, she has become a sort of nickname for all that the ‘galamsey’ represents and also, unfortunately, for the involvement of Chinese nationals in this illicit trade,” the president continued.
Kojo Oppong Nkrumah was seated behind the President when he passed his comments and sharply raised his head in shock after he said he wasn’t sure if Huang was deported.
After GhanaWeb posted the video on Twitter with the caption “Epic look from @konkrumah when @NAkufoAddo stated “ I’m not sure if Aisha Huang left the country”, the Information Minister went to work.
Epic look from @konkrumah when @NAkufoAddo stated “ I'm not sure if Aisha Huang left the country”
This content is used under the fair use principles. We do not own the Copyright to this video.#NanaAddo #AishaHuang #GhanaWeb pic.twitter.com/lSQt8HRB3n
— GhanaWeb (@TheGhanaWeb) September 13, 2022
Replying to the tweet, he said they misquoted the President and also sought to clarify what Akufo-Addo actually meant.
“Prez @NAkufoAddo has never said he isn’t sure if Aisha Huang left Ghana. Please quote him well. He said he wasn’t sure whether she was deported or she fled. The reason for the President’s comment is that there is a difference between deportation and repatriation,” Oppong Nkrumah said.
He added: “While the Minister for Interior can deport, the Immigration Service cannot. The instrument which the Immigration Service uses in such circumstances is a repatriation notice. Either way, the effect was that she was caused to exit from Ghana at the material moment.”
While the Minister for Interior can deport, the Immigration Service cannot.
The instrument which the Immigration Service uses in such circumstances is a repatriation notice.
Either way, the effect was that she was caused to exit from Ghana at the material moment.
— Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (@konkrumah) September 13, 2022
Source: theGhanaianVoice.Com
