NDC National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah has revisited the controversy that followed his decision to wear his wife’s coat during a state visit to Germany with President John Dramani Mahama.
The incident, which occurred during the January 2015 visit, attracted considerable attention in Ghana after photos of Asiedu Nketiah wearing a camel-coloured, fur-trimmed coat circulated widely.
More than a decade later, the NDC chairman has explained that his decision had little to do with fashion and everything to do with protecting himself from Germany’s cold weather.
Speaking on Onua TV on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, while celebrating his wife Vida Adomah Nketiah’s birthday, he recalled how her coat became the subject of public ridicule during the trip.
Asiedu Nketiah said he was travelling to Germany to take part in important engagements, not to impress anyone with his appearance.
He questioned why he should have been concerned about whether the coat belonged to a man or a woman when it served the immediate purpose of keeping him warm.
“Today is my wife Vida’s birthday, and if you remember, it was her coat that I wore some time ago. If you are going to a place where it is cold and you have been given something to clothe yourself with, is that the time you have to consider whether it belongs to a lady or not?” he said.
He went on to explain that the delegation’s purpose was to engage in official discussions and meet German leaders, including then-Chancellor Angela Merkel.
According to him, the focus of the trip was therefore far removed from questions of appearance.
“I didn’t go there for a beauty contest,” he stressed, arguing that the visit was about serious work.
“We went there for brainwork. And would you even get the chance to use your wife’s coat?” he added.
The coat incident became a talking point back home in Ghana, with Asiedu Nketiah saying he was not subjected to similar comments while in Germany.
He recalled that the criticism emerged largely after his return, with some political opponents using the coat as a way to mock him and, more broadly, attack the Mahama administration.
At the time, an NPP politician reportedly described the fashion choice as evidence of a “totally confused” administration.
Despite the controversy, Asiedu Nketiah has maintained that the practical need to stay warm was more important to him than the gender associated with the clothing.
For him, the episode remains a reminder of how an otherwise ordinary decision can become a major political talking point when public figures are involved.
