Bolgatanga MP, Isaac Adongo
President John Mahama, on Thursday, February 27, 2025, discharged his constitutional duty by presenting the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament.
The colorful event was graced by many dignitaries, including a former president, members of the diplomatic corps, and traditional rulers.
In his presentation, President Mahama spoke for over two hours without reading from a hard copy of a prepared text, as is usually done by many high-ranking public officials.
For those who watched on television, and for some uninitiated persons who were physically present in the chamber of Parliament House where the event was held, it appeared as though the president was speaking off the cuff for that long, which amazed many viewers.
One person who fell for this ‘illusion’ was the outspoken National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo.
During an interview on Asempa FM, monitored by GhanaWeb, the politician and chartered accountant sought to project President Mahama as an expert in speaking extemporaneously.
The following is the MP’s exchange with the program host:
Adongo asked: “What people didn’t observe—did you see the man speaking extempore?”
The host answered, “No, he didn’t.”
Adongo retorted, “His Excellency?”
The host responded, “No, he didn’t.”
Then Adongo asked, “What was he doing?”
The host answered, “He was reading from a teleprompter.”
Adongo retorted again, “But a greater part of the speech—”
The host responded, “No, no, he used a teleprompter.”
The MP then said, “I don’t want to debate you; I didn’t see anything.”
The host answered, “Yes, he did.”
Adongo, not satisfied with the answer, questioned, “Where was it (the teleprompter)?”
The host responded, “It was placed in front of him. It’s a screen. There were two—one on his left and the other on his right.”
President Mahama, a communications expert, both in opposition and in power, has resorted to using teleprompters when delivering public speeches—a style that is a departure from former presidents, who read prepared hard-copy statements.
A teleprompter is a device used to project a speaker’s script onto a transparent panel in front of a television camera lens in such a way that the text remains hidden from the camera.
No be Gadus be this?😂.. Adongo no de3 woabcn forken.. No wonder Mahama didn’t give him any ministerial position biaa yi pic.twitter.com/Ii3Q0wys9F
— Mr Irish (@MrIrish3) February 28, 2025
KA
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