Bawumia’s previous trip on Togbe Afede’s Africa World Airlines: Here is what we found

Social media came in their tons when Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia was spotted aboard a commercial flight on an in-country trip.

A photo shared by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni on social media disclosed that the Tamale-bound flight took off in the morning of Saturday, November 26.

A smiling Bawumia is strapped with his seat belt aboard the Africa World Airline’s Embraer 145 plane. He is without a passenger on the double-seat row with his security aide seated right behind him.

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.

The photo has generated divided reactions with those praising his gesture whiles others are dismissing same as mere theatrics and actions meant to show off.

For others, they point to how leaders in other jurisdictions often ride bicycles and board buses and trains to and from work.

Find the photo as shared by Manasseh:

GhanaWeb run a check on social media and came across photos that showed 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 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 picture 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.