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| Togbe Afede XIV |
A former member of the Council of State, Togbe
Afede XIV, has voiced his displeasure with the statements of Good Evening Ghana
presenter, Paul Adom-Otchere, regarding his conduct as a member of the Council.
According to the traditional ruler, the assertions
by the ace broadcaster on the number of times he attended meetings as a member
of the Council of State, are not honest.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with JoyNews’
Maxwell Agbagba on Thursday monitored by GHANA News ONLINE, Togbe Afede stated
that contrary to Paul’s allegations, he was ‘one of the active participants’ in
the Council of State, throughout his tenure of service.
He also said that even though he was frightened by
Paul’s words, he is not shocked since Paul did a similar thing in the past.
“He knew me very well. [So, it’s] surprising that
he of all people, and I don’t want to go into details; will be the one to
criticise me. But why am I not surprised? Because he had done something similar
before. When I was fighting Agyapa, he granted an interview to the Minister of
Finance and sought to denigrate me even in that interview.
By suggesting that I was an employee of Ken-Ofori
Atta. When I drew his attention, he apologised that no, no, he knew I was a
founder of Data Bank. I said, so why then do you present it as if I was an
employee of Ken Ofori-Atta? Again, when we were having a debate about the
referendum, that had to be aborted, he again tried to criticise me” Togbe Afede
explained.
The Paramount Chief of the Asogli Traditional
Area, Togbe Afede further intimated that, “It’s a surprise that he of all
people. When I say he of all people, he’ll know why I’m saying I didn’t expect
that from he of all people. But unfortunately, some people live by their
stomachs in the kind of things that they do. So given my recent experience,
I’ll say I’m not too surprised”.
Mr. Adom-Otchere claimed in an editorial on Good
Evening Ghana on Tuesday that the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State and former
President of the National House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede, attended only 16
percent of meetings during his tenure as a member of the Council of State,
based on facts available to him.
According to Paul Adom-Otchere, the Paramount
Chief honoured just 48 of the Council's 242 sessions over that time span,
accounting for 16 percent of the total.
This was revealed by the experienced broadcaster
when discussing why Togbe Afede returned the ex-gratia that was provided to
him.
Despite the fact that the decision has been acclaimed as a patriotic gesture on social media, he believes he does not comprehend the significance of the plaudits lavished on the traditional leader.
According to Mr. Adom-Otchere, the payment of
ex-gratia to Article 71 office holders is enshrined in the 1992 Constitution,
therefore Togbe Afede's return of his, in a way that seemed to depict him as
incorruptible, was devious.
As a consequence, the presenter of Good Evening
Ghana chastised Togbe Afede and advised the audience to refrain from
congratulating him, claiming that the repayment of his ex-gratia did not place
him on a "moral high ground."
Togbe Afede, however, expressed his
dissatisfaction with the 365,000 extra-gratia he received for sitting on the
Council of State between 2017 and 2020 in an exclusive interview with JoyNews.
He clarified that while serving on the Council, he
was paid a monthly salary and other benefits, therefore the ex-gratia was
unnecessary.
Working on the Council of State is mostly a
part-time job, according to Togbe Afede, and should not be accompanied with
such significant end-of-service payments.
Meanwhile, Paul Adom-accusations Otchere's have
been denied by the Asogli State Council.
The Asogli State Council stressed in a letter
issued in response to Mr Adom-statements Otchere's on Wednesday that Paul
misled about the number of times the traditional leader attended meetings while
sitting on the Council.
The letter also disputed rumours that Togbe Afede
had received money while serving on the Council.
The letter, which was titled: ‘Paul Adom-Otchere
lied’, reads as follows:
“Our attention has been drawn to comments and
allegations made by one Paul Adom Otchere in his Good Evening Ghana programme
on Metro TV on June 7, 2022 during his discussion of Togbe Afede XIV’s
rejection of Ex Gratia payment made to him.
We ordinarily would not respond to comments from Paul
Adom-Otchere, knowing who he is. But while we ponder a more suitable reaction,
specific allegations he made cannot be ignored:
1. The numbers Paul Adom-Otchere presented on
Togbe’s attendance at meetings of the Council of State are both incorrect and misleading,
and are a disingenuous attempt to discredit Togbe’s performance at the Council.
We challenge him to provide the Council’s attendance register from which he
compiled his numbers for all to know the truth”.
In their explanation, the Asogli State continued:
“The Council had three committees, one of which Togbe chaired, the Economy and
Special Development Initiatives Committee. And Togbe had an excellent plenary
meeting attendance record”.
2. Togbe did not
take a loan from Government. SG Bank offered commercial loans to Council
members, which Togbe has fully repaid.
3. Togbe
presented himself as a resident of Accra and did not claim any transport
allowances from the Council.
4. Togbe did not
say the Ex Gratia payments were illegal. He believes part-time work by our
senior citizens should not merit Ex Gratia payment by our poor country.
5. Finally,
Togbe’s rejection of the Ex Gratia payment is not a partisan political matter”.
A copy of the statement below:
Source: ghananews.hrforum.uk
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