ADB MD kicked out…Instructed to handover to Ibrahim Adam

The Managing Director of the Agriculture Development Bank (ADB), Mr. Yaw Opoku Tuahene has been booted out of office effective today, and instructed to hand over to Alhaji Ibrahim Adam, the Board chairman of the bank.

The paper gathered that the Office of the President has directed Mr. Atuahene to hand over to the Chairman of the board of Directors, and not to his deputy as has been the normal procedure and practice, since his deputy was also suspected to have been compromised.

The Chronicle learnt that what may have caused the decision of the President was the over exposure of the bank to one person, to the tune of GH¢9 billion, which imperiled the bank's liquidity requirement to the Central Bank.

When this reporter reached Mr. Atuahene about the long list of bad debts standing in the name of the bank which had been a source of grave concern for the board, he refused to comment on the subject.

He would only say that as a Banker he would keep quiet and refuse to discuss issues with the press – “I don't want to comment on the issue of malfeasance because certainly it was not the case”, he said.

Mr. Atuahene would not comment about the debt of Mr. Nyonyo Agboada (Togbui Sri), whose indebtedness stand at a troubling high. Mr. Adams said the instructions to handover to him, was the President's decision.

“It's his prerogative to make the chairman act until there is the appointment of a substantive MD,” he added.

On November 14, last year, an international Businessman, Mr. Raymond Okudzeto wrote to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr. Paul Acquah, to draw his attention to the circumstances under which Mr. Agboada, who is also the Chief Executive of Fraga Oil, was being granted huge loans, though he had not serviced previous loans taken from the same bank.

“Please institute a probe, you will find out that I am 100% right, in fact, this man has nothing to do with the agricultural sector and yet he has been given huge sums of money meant for the poor farmers, who are toiling everyday to put food on the tables of Ghanaians..” he charged.