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Koku Anyidoho must be sacked – Mike Ocquaye Jnr.

By myjoyonline
Politics Mike Ocquaye left and Mr Adu Asare right
JUN 2, 2012 LISTEN
Mike Ocquaye (left) and Mr Adu Asare (right)

A member the Communications team of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Mike Ocquaye Jnr. says Communications Director at the Presidency, Koku Anyidoho must be sacked for speaking on behalf of the president without having been authorized to do so.

He believes Mr Anyidoho has spectacularly misconducted himself and deserves to have the axe fall on him.

In the wake of a system failure and malfunctioning flood light at the Baba Yara Sports stadium Friday which put on hold a World Cup qualifier between the Black Stars and the Crocodiles of Lesotho, Mr Anyidoho told Joy FM heads were rolling, starting with the Ashanti East Regional Manager of the Electricity Company of Ghana.

He said “this is unacceptable and the president is highly upset and so those who are in the line of fire will be fired…the president of the Republic is in charge of upholding whatever is in the supreme interest of this Republic. These kinds of things have been going on for far too long and President Mills shall no longer accept these kinds of things.”

He subsequently explained on Joy FM's news analysis programme, Newsfile, that he did not say that the purported suspension of the Ashanti ECG boss was on the instruction of President Mills.

Instead, he said some key persons apparently in government took the decision and he communicated it. He accepted responsibility for the statement.

Mr Ocquaye Jnr. however rejected the argument maintaining that the Presidency's Communication Director was simply engaging in sophistry in a bid to deceive Ghanaians.

“If you listen to everything Mr Koku Anyidoho has said, he told us his authority was coming from the President…he says 'his Excellency the president is upset and so heads are rolling,' my brother what does that mean in English”?

Mike Ocquaye said it was regrettable that in a democratic nation, the Spokesperson to the president could purport to sack a person via a radio announcement without any investigations whatsoever indicting the person.

“President Mills, if you are not a weak president, please act now and let Koku Anyidoho be fired, and let Koku Anyidoho's head roll first,” he admonished.

Spokesperson for former President Jerry John Rawlings, who was also a panelist, said he was astounded by Mr. Anyidoho's claim that some key persons took the decision to suspend Alhaji Kurah.

“You are Director of Communications of the Presidency and for that matter the president…so you don't speak for any senior persons so if you are with senior persons and they express any view, that view must be [bounced off] the President before you put it in the public,” he stated.

Mr Adams who is a suspended Deputy General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress, said Mr Anyidoho had, by his conduct in this instant, created a difficult situation for the government.

NDC Member of Parliament for Adenta in a taciturn comment on the development, said he wished Mr Anyidoho had not made the statement.

“Between the purported Ashanti Regional Director of ECG… and Koku Anyidoho, who should be fired? What has happened is a shame; it is reckless and irresponsible; and the earlier the right things are done for Ghanaians to take the presidency seriously the better,” Egbert Faibille, Legal practitioner and Editor of the Ghanaian Observer newspaper stated.

It was his view that the Castle Communications Director was “being irresponsible, he's taking Ghanaians for granted and he is bringing the president into unnecessary line of fire.”

He insisted Ghana deserves better than this, wondering whether there is any credence to the mantra that President Mills is a fine gentleman of unblemished character, asking “Is this good character, the character of a president whose spokesperson will speak on a national matter where there are experts like the energy ministry,…the sports council [without authority?]”


Story by Ghana l Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com

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