A heated exchange erupted on the Floor of Parliament on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, over government’s proposed retooling of the Ghana Air Force, which includes the acquisition of four helicopters, two aircrafts, and a ship for the country.
The disagreement unfolded during the second day of debate on the 2026 Budget Statement and Economic Policy presented to the House last week by the Minister for Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama.
The Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor, ignited the controversy during his contribution to the debate when he alleged that government had allocated US$1.2 billion for the purchase of two new presidential jets for the Executive—an expenditure he argued was misplaced at a time when other national priorities require urgent attention.
He urged the NDC Government to reprioritize its spending to stimulate the needed economic growth.
His claims drew an immediate and strong rebuttal from the Majority Leader, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, who challenged the authenticity of the figures quoted by the Ranking Member. He insisted that no portion of the 2026 Budget made reference to the procurement of presidential jets at the cost mentioned.
The presiding Speaker, Hon. Bernard Ahiafor, stepped in to resolve the matter, ordering that all references to dollar-denominated amounts in Abu Jinapor’s submission be expunged from the parliamentary records after the Ranking Member failed to substantiate his claims with citations from the budget document.
Seeking to defend their position, the Minority Caucus—led by its Chief Whip, Hon. Frank Annoh-Dompreh—swiftly assembled a team to compute the projected costs of the Air Force retooling programme over the next three years. They subsequently converted the estimated expenditure into dollars to justify the figures initially quoted by the Ranking Member.
The debate on the 2026 Budget is expected to intensify in the coming days as both sides of the House continue to scrutinise the government’s policy priorities and spending proposals.
Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com
