Rev Dr. Stephen Y. Wengam, the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Ghana, has revealed why President John Dramani Mahama was not on board the helicopter that crashed on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, killing two ministers and six others en route to an event in Obuasi.
According to Rev Wengam, the first lady, Lordina Mahama, played a crucial role in changing President Mahama’s initial plans.
Rev Wengam disclosed that the President was originally scheduled to join the trip but had cancelled a church engagement to attend Côte d’Ivoire’s Independence Day celebration.
That plan would have placed him on the Obuasi-bound helicopter on Wednesday, ahead of his departure for Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday.
However, following several discussions between the First Lady and Rev. Dr. Wengam, President Mahama was eventually convinced to attend the Assemblies of God event on Wednesday instead, thereby missing the ill-fated flight.
Speaking during a church gathering, Rev. Wengam narrated, “People have been calling and posting on social media and saying Assemblies of God, thank you for saving our president’s life. It’s not about the clapping. Listen carefully. That’s why the speaker said, you must be prophetic. You don’t need to be a prophet”.
“When last week, I received a call from the President’s Secretary [Dr Callistus Mahama] that he will not be able to come today, and that he had been invited to la Côte D’ Ivoire to be the special guest of honour for their independence [Day celebration] and that His Excellency had asked the Vice President and his wife [Lordina Mahama] to come in his place. I said, Thank you, Dr Callistus”, he added.
Rev Wengam continued, “Then I called Reverend Bawa and said, ‘Reverend Bawa, the President said he can’t make it, and I don’t accept it. Go mobilise the prayer team and pray, and reverse it. Rev Bawa is my witness. Where is he? I told him. I said, I don’t accept it.’”
“Then Monday, when we arrived, I was a bit late. I was just coming, and the First Lady called me very angry. She said, ‘Pastor, the President says that he’s going to Côte d’Ivoire, but no, we are coming for this program. We have planned for this program long ago. No way.’ It was a battle on the phone. Battle on the phone. She said, ‘Don’t accept it’.”
He further revealed that when he was on call with the first lady President tried reaching him.
He added, “I was talking with her when the President was calling. I said, Mama, ‘President is calling. It’s okay. I’m going off. I don’t agree. So the President explained. I said, ‘Your Excellency, I understand, your will be done’.”
“Then, when I was leading prayer, I saw Mama calling again. I couldn’t receive the call. Then she sent a text and said, ‘We are coming on Wednesday’, so the President can travel on Thursday. So that was how it was averted.”
“So when the speaker says, we must be prophetic, every pastor — and this comes by being very prayerful, spending time hours before the daily, not that you pray on Monday, you don’t pray Wednesday, when you’re going to preach on Saturday, then you start fasting off.”
Meanwhile, President John Mahama addressed the nation for the first time since the incident.
He called on Ghanaians to rise above political divisions and unite in national mourning.
John Mahama stated, “This is not a time for division, speculation, or political point-scoring. It is a time for strength, for empathy, and for the enduring Ghanaian spirit that still stands tall when all else fails.”
“Let our words be of comfort, our actions be of kindness, and our unity be the tribute we offer to those whose lives have been lost,” he added.
Ghana lost eight people, including Dr Omane Boamah and Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, two cabinet members who passed away following a helicopter crash at Adansi Akrofuom District of the Ashanti Region on Wednesday, August 6.
The helicopter was carrying eight individuals, including three crew members and five passengers, among them the ministers, a presidential staffer identified as Samuel Sarpong, and the ministers’ security detail.
Muniru Mohammed, Acting Deputy National Security Coordinator, and Samuel Aboagye, a former Parliamentary Candidate, and Samuel Sarpong, Vice Chairman of NDC, have all been confirmed dead.
The crew members are Squadron Leader Peter Bafemi Anala, Flying Officer Manin Twum-Ampadu, and Sergeant Ernest Addo Mensah.
Watch the video below:
General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Ghana, Rev. Dr. Stephen Y. Wengam, has revealed why President John Dramani Mahama was not on board the helicopter that crashed yesterday, killing two ministers and six others en route to an event in Obuasi.
— EDHUB🌍ℹ (@eddie_wrt) August 7, 2025
He disclosed that the… pic.twitter.com/MLuLfU5UPh