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Interior Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, has revealed that the late Minister for Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, was strongly averse to using helicopters for official travel prior to his tragic death in the recent crash.
According to Mr Muntaka, Dr Boamah consistently expressed safety concerns about helicopter travel and even cautioned his colleagues against using them, until the fatal incident at Adansi Akrofuom on Wednesday, 6 August.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM on Monday, 11 August, Mr Muntaka recalled how the late Defence Minister had on multiple occasions discouraged him from travelling by helicopter.
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Dr Omane Boamah never liked boarding helicopters. Since we came into office these past seven months, we have never boarded any of them together because he hated it and kept warning me. I probably use it the most, perhaps myself, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, and a few others have used the helicopter more than anyone else.
He recounted a recent incident when the President tasked him with an urgent trip to Tamale, for which he requested a helicopter:
The week before the incident, the President asked me to go to Tamale for something urgent. I called the Air Force Commander and asked him to prepare the helicopter for the journey. Normally, if it’s over the weekend, we use it and afterwards document it for the records.
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He said, ‘Muntaka, I don’t know what is wrong with you. Why are you using this helicopter? I’ve told you I’m not comfortable with this. Why not use the cater?’ I said it would be a waste, but he replied, ‘Your safety is more important than the cost you’re thinking about.’
Mr Muntaka expressed his grief at the irony of Dr Boamah’s death:
Yet because of the fight against them, he was ready to board the helicopter for the first time despite all his reservations. And the first time he used it, he never returned. You understand why some of us are broken. You understand why we are devastated.
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He further stressed the urgent need to combat illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, to honour the memory of the fallen heroes.