Dan Botwe Already Falling Into Kufuor’s Trap

Lens -- Dan Botwe, the immediate past General Secretary of the NPP who was removed from the party hierarchy and made an "ordinary" minister of information so as to make it easier for his services to be dispensed with, has already started digging the grave that Kufuor intended him to dig for himself.

Still firing on his General Secretary cylinders and not making any attempt to polish his language and talking "by heart", Dan Botwe use of the word "rubbish" in reference to Chronicle's assertion that the government was sponsoring the likes of Baby Ansabah and Joris Jordan to smear Raymond Archer, is said to have stirred some consternation in the corridors of power, with some who have been against his nomination from day one urging that he be called to order..

According to Dan, their assertion was total "rubbish" - the kind of language that he has used all his political life on platforms and on radio stations.

Sources close to the Presidency confirm that the likes of Kwabena Agyepong, whose hopes of ever being a Minister are dashed because of the huge player transfer scandal he was involved in, are not exactly pleased that Dan is a full Minister; consequently they cannot wait for him to mess up and get the sack.

According to another NPP insider, "Dan Botwe is doing exactly what Kufuor expects him to do so that he can have enough reason to fire him for non-performance as a Minister for information".

It would be recalled that during his vetting, Dan was asked by Hon John Mahama whether it was true that he was being removed from the party structure and being made a minister in order for Kufuor to have his way by way of getting his choice person to be General Secretary in order for him to influence who the flagbearer would be in 2008? In his answer, Dan said he read the story in The Lens and that he was waiting to see whether that was the agenda of the president.

It is an open secret that Dan Botwe and the president do not get on well and Dan was very instrumental in making sure that certain persons like Ohene Ntow, who is one of Kufuor's "small boys" did not make it to parliament. The truth of the matter is that Dan Botwe does not respect the president for reasons that are obvious.

It would be in Dan Botwe's interest to be careful not to fall into the obvious trap that has been carefully set for him. Dan should know that as a General Secretary, he had a fixed term of office whilst as a Minister of state the president can fire him at will.

A word to Dan is in The Lens.