Acting Director-General of the National Road Safety Authority, Abraham Amaliba, has revealed how a last-minute intervention by Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, saved the life of Minister of Interior, Mohammed Mubarak-Muntaka, from boarding the Ghana Air Force helicopter that later crashed, killing eight people, including two ministers.
According to Amaliba, Muntaka was initially scheduled to be part of a delegation attending the launch of the Responsible Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme (rCOMSDEP) at Black Park, near the Obuasi Len Clay Sports Stadium in the Ashanti Region.
Speaking in an interview on TV3, which has since been shared on social media, Amaliba said Ato Forson pulled Muntaka out of the flight at the last moment due to an engagement with immigration officers related to his role as Minister of Interior, replacing him with the late Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed.
Amaliba further disclosed that both the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the party’s General Secretary, Fiifi Kwetey, declined invitations to attend the event.
“Sarpong was not supposed to be on that flight. When the invitation came for the party to be represented in the programme, the party chairman said he had prior engagements. He turned to Fiifi Kwetey, but Fiifi also said it was too impromptu. The lot fell on Sarpong because he comes from the area, and that’s how he ended up there.
“The President, who was advertised to be there, told Omane. I’m told it was Muntaka who actually stepped onto the plane but was
pulled out by the Minister of Finance because the Minister of Finance was going to meet immigration officials and said, I need you because your agency is there.”
The crash of the Z-9 helicopter, belonging to the Ghana Armed Forces, claimed the lives of Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Minister of Defence, Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator, Dr Samuel Sarpong, Vice Chairman of the NDC, Samuel Aboagye, Deputy Director-General of NADMO, Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Ghana Air Force, Flying Officer Manaen Twum Ampadu, Ghana Air Force and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah, Ghana Air Force.
