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The GOC Games Sub-Committee, with reference to Daily Graphic article above dated the 10th of February, Thursday, 2022, wish to offer a rejoinder. The article is full of misrepresentations, conjecture and fabrications. The President of The Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) Mr. Ben Nunoo attempts to use Dr Bitugu and the GOC Games Sub-Committee as scape goats. This is not right and must be faced and addressed with the records properly put.

The President of the GOC, Mr. Ben Nunoo Mensah claimed Dr. Bitugu used the wrong channel to secure his position and hence his unceremonious exit as Chef Du Mission (CDM) for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games 2022. It is not true. Dr. Bitugu was endorsed by a legitimate process where a resolution was passed by the Board of the Ghana Olympic Committee dated July last year. This meeting was presided over by Mr. Ben Nunoo Mensah and at that meeting, Mr. Ben Nunoo Mensah even submitted two members to be part of the GOC Games Sub-Committee.

Secondly, Ben Nunoo Mensah claims Dr. Bitugu failed to follow the chain of command of the Ghana Olympic Committee. This is rather absurd and unbelievable as it is the former himself who has flouted that very process on countless times. The chain of command in the constitutional provisions of the GOC clearly enjoins Ben Nunoo Mensah to respect the existence of the Board and their decisions. Has he done that? Obviously, no.

Thirdly, Ben Nunoo Mensah avers that Dr. Bitugu is ignorant and that his ignorance played a part in his predicament. The GOC President claims Dr. Bitugu misled the Ministry of Youth and Sports by offering bad advice for the latter to form a Games Sub-Committee in the GOC and that it contravened the rules of the GOC. No this is not true. This only goes to show how beleaguered the President is, and throwing everything everywhere. He claimed the formation of the GOC Games Sub-Committee was against the rule of the International Games Committee of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Which rule is he referring to? There is no such rule.

He also said a Games Committee was set up for the Winter Games. This is not true. The Games Committee is for all Games. In the sports page of the Daily Graphic of 9th February, 2022 he went on a similar rampage with contradictory and false assertions against the Ministry of Sports. Today, it is the Games Committee and Dr. Bitugu. Mr Ben Nunoo Mensah must be brought to order. He has been a lose canon and racket for far too long.

The resolution passed to establish the GOC Games Sub Committee is to recommend CDMs and the working team to the Board of the GOC for approval. Who heads the board of the GOC. Who presides over meetings and who presided over this particular meeting. Why is he playing ignorant. What Ben Nunoo Mensah is saying here can only infer that he is presiding over a dysfunctional GOC or he is not narrating the truth or both.

Is the President, Ben Nunoo Mensah, aware or forgotten the recommendations of the Justice Tanko report on 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia? Is he not aware that the report advised that the appointment of CDMs and its working team must be approved by the Board in writing to person/s designated for each role. The recommendation further states that the CDM must be given a letter of engagement with the roles stated. So why did he go on working with Dr. Bitugu and refused to do the needful and then comes round to accuse on baseless and fabricated grounds simply because Dr Bitugu did the honourable thing by resigning.

Mr President, you have done gross injustice and caused huge injury to Dr. Bitugu and the GOC which you head. Both need apologies and retracting of these false and misleading assertions.

The GOC is a member of the International Games Committee set up by the Ministry of Youth and Sports with the President, Ben Nunoo-Mensah and the Secretary General Mohammed Sahnoon of the GOC as members. Then the GOC President goes round and insinuated in his confused submissions that he complained about the formation of the Games Committee and was not listened to? Something is indeed very wrong and out of control here.

The GOC president was sent an Email of the resignation of Dr. Bitugu, he was sent a WhatsApp, the mail was also sent to the GOC secretariat, a WhatsApp was also sent to the WhatsApp platform of the GOC board. Saying he had no information is very false and disrespectful of discerning minds and the stature of members of the GOC board.

Perhaps the formation of the Games Sub-Committee has come to fill holes and gaps and the president Ben is certainly not happy for the right thing to be done to seal avenues for waste and corruption.

Again, he claimed Dr. Bitugu expecting an appointment letter from him was wrong because the Games Committee was chaired by the first vice, Paul Atchoe. This clearly shows that the president has an agenda here which we do not know of. He also seems to be unaware of the structures and working of the GOC he is heading. Mr President please note that Chairperson of the GOC Games Sub Committee is Mr. Frederick Lartey Otu, the 2nd Vice President of GOC and not Mr. Paul Atchoe, the 1st Vice President.

Ben Nunoo-Mensah is confused and further avers that despite the anomaly in appointing Dr. Bitugu as Chef Du Mission by the Board, the latter still went ahead to endorse him. Is he by this, saying the Board members have flouted the constitution and did not pass through the right channel? This is unacceptable coming from a president. This is sheer inefficiency and deceit or both.

Can the GOC President tell the GOC Board who entered the athletes and officials for the Beijing Games? Can he confirm whether Dr. Bitugu was aware of these entries? This was made by President Ben Nunoo-Mensah and the Administrative Manager, Farida Iddriss without the knowledge of the approved CDM and his working team.

Did the GOC President inform the Board on how the lists of athletes, officials and kits were obtained for the winter Olympics? The GOC President claims he invited Dr. Bello to teach and assist him on what he was supposed to do ahead of the Winter Olympics? He however failed to mention that such tutorial happened just about two weeks to departure when almost all the arrangements were done behind the legitimate Dr Bitugu. Something is wrong here and it seems someone like Ben is trying to hide something here.

Ben Nunoo Mensah further claims he only learned of Dr. Bitugu's resignation on social media and that he was shocked. Ben Nunoo Mensah says this was a disrespect to the office of the GOC. We wish to state emphatically that this is untrue as Dr. Bitugu had already posted his resignation letter to his email and that of the GOC Mail and to his personal whatsapp and and the SG posted it on the WhatsApp platform of the Board. How can a President lie through the tooth this way?
Ben Nunoo Mensah claims that the GOC was taken aback by the resignation of Dr. Bitugu Bello. Was it that the IOC were angry at Dr. Bitugu or they wanted a drastic clarification from the GOC why that happened? I wish the GOC President could have as well told the media the same reaction of the IOC when he and his own charges embarrassed the winter athlete Carlos Maeder, before the Games. A clear insult from him and the Administrative manager Farida Iddriss ( who told the athlete that he will not receive any funding from the GOC again if he talks to any other person apart from her and the President).

The last paragraph of the GOC President's statement "Ghanaians should put the issue behind them" is even more of a mockery and far from over. This and many more issues surrounding the power drunk and inefficient office of the GOC President and President Ben Nunoo Mensah shall and will now evolve. The hypocrisy and monopoly of doing things at the corridors of the GOC is grinding to a halt.

Please leave Dr. Bitugu alone, take responsibility of, and for your actions, inactions and failure of your administration and management style, and leave the Games Committee alone. Deal with your inefficiencies, failure and autocratic leadership leading the GOC to where it finds itself now, making mockery of such a noble and global organsitation.