I Did Not Strip Akufo-Addo Of The Presidency – Osafo Maafo

Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo has rejected claims made by Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, that he [Osafo-Maafo] ‘stripped Akufo-Addo of the Presidency’ after comments he made on the credibility of Jospong Group of companies.
In a release, the Office of the Senior Minister stated that; “the Office of the Senior Minister wishes to state in unequivocal terms that there is no iota of truth in the claim that the Hon. Senior Minister made statements which can be construed to have “stripped” H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the Presidency as purported by the Hon. MP, Alhaji Fuseini.”
The Senior Minister during a panel discussion at the launch of the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Week in Accra according to earlier reports contradicted the President’s view of the Jospong Group.
President Akufo-Addo during a visit to the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant at Adjen Kotoku last month empathized with the founder and Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, over the various corruption claims levelled against him.
“When you are at the forefront of doing things like you are, you will be the subject of controversy, it goes with the territory. I know you a little bit, and I know you are capable of handling it. Stay focused,” the President encouraged.
Mr. Osafo-Maafo in response to a question asked during the panel discussion noted that the President’s words for Mr. Agyepong “will not be right” if the allegations against him were correct, saying, “It’s certainly not right. It will give the wrong signals if you are seen to be pampering or endorsing a known wrongdoer.”
But Hon. Inusah Fuseini says Osafo Maafo’s response was disrespectful to the President and questioned his ability to execute his duties as Senior Minister.
“The chicken has come home to roost… the centre cannot hold any longer. As an appointee of the president, you are under the obligation to protect the president, defend and serve him. He did the exact opposite and became the president,” Mr. Fuseini said.
The Senior Minister elucidated that, in response to a question as to why in spite of the fact that the World Bank branded Zoomlion as corrupt yet President Akufo-Addo urged the CEO of Zoomlion to “take courage, to continue to clean our cities”, the Hon. Senior Minister said “the Government cannot depend on commentaries made by international bodies to prosecute. That is why institutions like CHRAJ, EOCO, and Police CID etc. are there to investigate any wrongdoing. We should, therefore, be careful otherwise we destroy our indigenous businesses who are doing well in our nation-building.”
Employing several hundreds in various sects under the conglomerate, many find it hard to swallow negative rumours about a business that creates jobs and contributes greatly to development.
A recent investigation by Multimedia Journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni revealed that a contract issued by the Group to attain about a million waste bins and nine hundred thousand disposable bin liners, was likely increased by GHC130 million.

Source: Peacefmonline