<<Print>>

Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako says it is hypocritical of former President John Dramani Mahama to castigate President Nana Akufo-Addo for not sacking Ghana's High Commissioner to South Africa, George Ayisi-Boateng, over the latter's alleged divisive comments.

Ayisi-Boateng came under severe flak for saying that members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) were his topmost priority.

Addressing the tertiary students' wing of the NPP - TESCON - he told the students that he would favor the NPP members above any other Ghanaian as High Commissioner because the party folks were the ones that toiled to get them into power.

Though Ayisi Boateng later apologized after several calls on him to either resign or be sacked, the former President John Dramani Mahama, speaking to NDC faithfuls at their Unity walk in the Central Region, mocked President Akufo-Addo saying the apology letter was not authored by the High Commissioner, and described it as an apology of an apology letter.

According to Mr. Mahama, he expected President Akufo-Addo to have sacked the High Commissioner without any hesitation and so, the President's failure to dismiss his appointee is indicative that he's not committed to the fight against corruption.

 “The President seems unable to take firm action in anything. When I talk about the President not putting his foot down, we have a constitution and the constitution is the supreme law of the land. If you are a party officer, you can say whatever you want, there is no problem,” he said.

“You can say all jobs should go to NDC people before it goes to NPP people, if you are Allotey Jacobs (NDC Central Regional Minister). The government doesn’t pay you, taxpayers don’t pay you and you haven’t sworn an oath to anybody. But [not] when you are appointed as a High Commissioner and you swear an oath to the constitution of Ghana which says there shall be no discrimination and you shall do justice to all manner of persons,” ex-president Mahama stated.

But Kweku Baako has questioned the moral right of the former President to accuse the Akufo-Addo administration when he (Mahama) did worse things during his regime.

Alluding to a similar case under the erstwhile Mahama administration where the then Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, Joseph Yamin, made certain divisive comments, Mr. Baako asked how the former President responded to calls on him to sack Mr. Yamin and he (Mahama) would not do it but rather reassigned him to the Ashanti Region as Deputy Regional Minister.

To him, it is pure hypocrisy for Ex-President Mahama to make a sudden U-turn after failing several times as Head of State to deal with his own appointees when it was clear they had involved themselves in various acts of corruption.

He also asked why Mr. Mahama couldn't dismiss the former Transport Minister Dzifa Attivor but only accepted her resignation because the Minister, herself, decided to vacate her office in the bus branding saga.

This among other instances Mr. Baako cited on Peace FM's Kokrokoo to remind the former President of his supposedly injudicious decisions to curb the same situation he now accuses the Akufo-Addo administration of.

"So, if you’re a former President and you want to mark a sitting President dependent on the issue and so, you lift that issue and want to mean that your conduct or your handling of similar issue was superior; then we’re entitled to do a comparative analysis…of how you handled yours and how the present one is handling his. Isn’t it so? It’s legitimate”, Mr. said.

To him, Mr. Mahama should not have pointed wrong fingers at the Akufo-Addo administration because "he had the responsibility to discharge a certain burden" under his regime but "he didn’t. And he’s attacking the one sitting down right now saying that you should do it this way, you’re not doing it; so you’re failing. Hypocrisy personified!”

Kweku Baako further added that he least expected Mr. Mahama to touch on the Ayisi Boateng's issue saying "it is the last thing that the former President should have touched on. And especially, if he will touch on to say that the President has failed in not discharging his duties by not sacking the guy because the guy is being paid with tax payers’ money but it happened under you. It happened, the same thing....what did you do?”