When Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia was observed on a commercial jet while traveling within the country, social media users immediately began to remark in droves.
According to a picture posted on social media by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, the flight to Tamale took off early on Saturday, November 26.
Manasseh captioned the photo thus: “This morning, those of us on board Africa World’s Embraer 145 commercial flight to Tamale were joined by an unexpected passenger.
“I don’t know how often it happens, but this is the first time I have heard or seen Ghana’s president or vice president on a local commercial flight,” the post added.
Dr Bawumia is buckled up on an Embraer 145 aircraft operated by Africa World Airline. He is alone in the double row of seats, and his security assistant is seated just behind him.
The image has drawn mixed reactions, with some admiring his gesture and others criticizing it as mere theater.
Others are reminded of how many leaders in other jurisdictions go to and from work on bicycles, buses, and trains.
Investigations by GhanaWeb shows that it is not the first time the Vice President has flown on a commercial flight locally.
Bawumia’s trip to the same Tamale in early November 2022 was via the Togbe Afede-owned Africa World Airlines. He flew to the Northern Regional capital for an event organized by the Northern Development Authority (NDA).
Photos shared exclusively on Twitter by a user @nie_gh, showed the Second Gentleman in a queue waiting his turn to board the flight. He is also pictured in one of the photos waving to some people.
We further corroborated whether he indeed had an engagement in Tamale within that time and our search returned a Ghana News Agency report on what he went to do in Tamale.
The November 3 report read in part:
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has launched the Medium-Term Development Strategy for Northern Ghana (MTDS) to create economic growth and improve the livelihoods of the people in the area.
The MTDS, which will be implemented within the next five years (2022 – 2027), focuses on promoting socio-economic growth and climate change adaptation whilst unlocking the potential of the northern savannah ecological zone by building synergies of actors, and building the resilience of the people to create wealth and restore the environment.