Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has praised the government’s efforts to reduce fuel prices despite recent challenges in oil-rich nations.
Speaking on TV3’s BigIssue segment on the NewDay morning show on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, he commended President John Dramani Mahama’s administration for its handling of the economy, particularly noting the lack of Eurobond borrowing.
Tameklo said the previous Akufo-Addo government often blamed external factors for Ghana’s economic issues, such as blaming the then economic woes on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
To that effect, he said the erstwhile administration would have increased fuel prices and blamed it on the abduction of the Venezuelan President since they possess the highest oil deposit in the world.
“Do you know that if today, the NPP and co were in power, the abduction of Nicolas Maduro would have been reason for fuel prices to go up? ” he noted, referencing the situation in Venezuela.
He criticised the former government’s excuse that the Russia-Ukraine war caused Ghana’s economic turmoil, pointing out that inflation was lower in those countries despite the conflict, compared to Ghana at the time.
“The people who were having bombs dropped on them, in Russia and Ukraine, had single-digit inflation. We were having double-digit inflation, and they blamed Russia and Ukraine,” Tameklo explained.
He emphasised that President Mahama’s administration has taken a different approach where citizens would not be burdened with high cost of living and blamed it on external factors that do not relate to the real economic indices.
The Director of Legal Affairs for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) lauded Mahama’s “innovative leadership” for keeping the economy sound without Eurobond borrowing.
“In just one year, President Mahama has kept the economy sound without a single Eurobond,” he stated, while lauding the Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, for paying off US$709 million of Ghana’s debt.
“Ato Forson has today, paid the debt he inherited, about US$709 million, record,” Tameklo said, emphasizing the achievement within Mahama’s first year.
Tameklo commended the government’s focus on stabilising the economy and reducing fuel prices. He noted that the current administration’s approach is yielding positive results, highlighting the contrast with previous economic management strategies.
