Former Northern regional Minister, Moses Bukari Mabengba, has accused the officials of the Tamale International Airport of driving him away from the VIP lounge.   

The former Ambassador to Angola said he was seated with the Minister for Special Projects Development Hawa Koomson when the officials came to walk him away from the lounge. 

Speaking to Joy News' Northern regional correspondent Hashmin Mohammed, he said the officials told him they were acting on the "orders from above from people in Accra."

Narrating what happened, he said he was at the airport to catch a flight back to Accra "when a young man came to inform me, please you are no longer allowed to use the VIP lounge."

"Fortunately for me, I was sitting in the Lounge with one of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs who is also a Minister. So I drew her attention and told her 'you see what your people are doing?'" he said. 

Mr Mabengba said he embarrassingly joined other passengers despite protest from the Projects Minister.  

The aggrieved Minister said during his tenure, all former Ministers including Ministeries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) were granted access to the VIP lounge. 

He said he thought the same courtesy will apply to them once they were out of office and so he has been using the lounge since January. 

According to him, when the body of the late former Vice President Aliu Mahama was transported to his hometown through the airport, government accorded the New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives the needed courtesy in the lounge. 

Mr Mabengba lamented the treatment meted out to him, adding it must be stopped immediately as it will create a cycle of retribution each time there is a change in government. 

However, the manager of the airport, Micheal Omane Mensah in an interview said, “all former diplomats are allowed to use the VIP lounge”.

“I don’t know where that directive is coming from.”