Ghana’s first lady has offered to refund all the allowances she has received since the president assumed office in 2017, following a public outcry over salaries.

In a statement released, the first lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo has disclosed that she will be refunding the already paid amount in her account.

The statement also says the first lady is against the approval of the payment of salaries to First and Second Ladies in Ghana.

A statement issued on Monday, July 11 said “The First Lady has taken note of the ongoing conversation in the nation, following on from recommendations and the bipartisan approval by Parliament, as mandated by the Constitution as the body which approves the emoluments of the Executive.

“It is important to state that payment of such allowances existed and was made to previous First Ladies in the course of the 4th Republic, prior to Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo becoming First Lady, Mrs. Akufo-Addo did not request to be paid any allowance. She only received that which existed and attached to her status, albeit informally.

“That notwithstanding, the public discussion has been laced with some extremely negative opinions, in some cases, which she finds distasteful, seeking to portray her as a venal, self-serving, and self-centered woman who does not care about the plight of ordinary Ghanaian.

“In view of this the First Lady, in consultation with the President of the Republic has decided to refund all monies paid her as allowances from the date of the President’s assumption of office i.e from January 2017 to date, amounting to GHS899,097.84 (K121,673,861.53).

Last week, Ghanaians expressed outrage at the decision by MPs to approve salaries for the wives of the president and vice-president for the supportive role they play.