Claim: Deputy Minister for Transport, Hassan Tampuli, recently claimed that the woman who drove Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia during the launch of the electric bus pilot programme was a former head porter (kayayoo) trained under a government initiative.
Verdict: FALSE. Investigations by Citi Verify revealed that Mary Lalako Agboli, the woman in question, was not trained by the government. Instead, she received her driving education through the Network of Women Growth (NEWIG Ghana), a non-profit organization. Furthermore, she has been a professional bus driver with Aayalolo for six years.
Details
Social media has been buzzing with claims attributed to Hassan Tampuli that Mary Lalako Agboli, the woman who chauffeured Vice President Bawumia during the electric bus pilot phase, is a former head porter who benefited from a government training programme. These assertions have been reported by several media outlets and widely shared on social platforms.
To establish the truth, Citi Verify conducted a detailed investigation into the origins of Mary’s training and professional background.
Verification
Background Check on Mary Lalako Agboli
A thorough online search was conducted to trace Mary’s history. Using her name, Citi Verify reviewed several articles, videos, and official posts dating back to 2017.
- Training by NEWIG Ghana:
In 2017, Mary Lalako Agboli was enrolled in a driving school under the Network of Women Growth (NEWIG Ghana), an organization dedicated to equipping women with vocational and entrepreneurial skills. Following her graduation, she began her career as a bus driver. - Employment with Aayalolo:
Since completing her training, Mary has been employed as a professional bus driver for Aayalolo, a bus rapid transit system. NEWIG Ghana highlighted her journey in a June 2024 article titled Mary Lalako Agboli: Breaking Stereotypes and Driving Towards Success. - Earlier Reports of Her Work:
In February 2020, a report by Channel One TV (formerly Citi TV) featured Mary driving an Aayalolo bus, with footage aired between the 2:50 and 4:53 timestamps. - Instagram Confirmation:
In September 2024, NEWIG Ghana’s Instagram page posted a photo of Mary with the organization’s CEO, reaffirming her ongoing role as a professional bus driver.
Government Training Programme Timeline
The claim that Mary was trained by the government as a kayayoo is contradicted by clear evidence. The government’s initiative to train head porters was only launched on May 30, 2024. By that time, Mary had already been working with Aayalolo for six years.
Moreover, Mary’s training and employment began long before the government introduced this initiative, and there is no evidence linking her to the kayayei training programme.
Conclusion
The claim that Mary Lalako Agboli is a kayayoo trained by the government is false. Mary’s professional journey was shaped by the efforts of NEWIG Ghana, and she has been driving for Aayalolo since 2018. Assertions linking her to the government’s head porter training programme lack factual basis.
