I prefer ‘noisy, scandalous’ media to ‘sycophancy’

President Nana Akufo-Addo has said he prefers having a “noisy, boisterous sometimes scandalous media of today to the monotonous, praise-singing sycophantic one of yesteryear”.

Addressing journalists at the Flagstaff House on Tuesday 18 July vis-à-vis his first six months in office, the president said although the media has been criticised for overstepping its freedom of expression limit following the repeal of the criminal libel law, “I don’t regret in one bit my role” in getting that colonial law expunged from Ghana’s statutes, even though he is always criticised for leading the repeal.

He said: “I cannot complain about the lack of exposure about my thoughts, policies since I took office,” adding that he was “grateful” to the media and the presidential press corps for always trumpeting his policies.

He said he was “delighted” by the “vibrancy of Ghanaian media”. “The Ghanaian media has enriched the nation’s governance by its persistence, curiosity and investigative skills. Ghanaians deserve to know what we are doing and why we are doing it and how that would lead to the betterment of lives,” the president said.

Nana Akufo-Addo said his first six months in office has been “eventual” and intends meeting the press “twice every year” not to deliver a “mini-State of the Nation Address” nor “announce my achievements” but rather “guided by the principle of accountability”.