Okudzeto Ablakwa has expressed deep sorrow over the loss of eight lives in Wednesday’s military helicopter crash at Adansi Akrofuom in the Ashanti Region, describing the tragedy as “too difficult to take.”
Speaking at a ceremony in honour of the victims with Joy News monitored by MyNewsGh, Mr. Ablakwa recalled his last encounter with the late Dr. Omane Boamah only a week earlier during a Ministerial Advisory Board meeting.
“After the meeting, he told us he had to go resolve the issues in Bawku, so it was going to be a very busy weekend for him. We exchanged pleasantries, never imagining that would be the last time we saw him,” he said.
He added that Dr. Boamah, the late Minister for Environment, Technology and Innovation, along with Honourable Alhaji Dr. Murtala Ibrahim Mohammed, Honourable Muniru Limuna, Samuel Aboagye, and other crew members “did not deserve this,” stressing that “no human being deserves what they have gone through.”
On questions about whether the tragedy called for a retooling of the aviation sector or the procurement of a new presidential jet, Mr. Ablakwa deferred to the investigative board set up by the President.
“They should come up with their recommendations, and I’m sure they will be brought to Cabinet and Parliament for deliberation,” he said.
He extended condolences on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the families of the victims, praying for strength and comfort for them.
“Even for us at the Ministry, it feels like a ghost village. We have suspended all work to pay our respects. The whole country is mourning, and it is very, very difficult to understand why this would happen to Ghana and to our fellow people,” he added.
