Sir John Jabs President Mills

The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John has described President Mills as a hypocrite and a man who cannot stand by his words. According to Sir John, President Mills is not as pious as people think and the decision to build a �mansion� close to his residence shows his hypocritical nature. Controversy has surrounded the Presidency since the Daily Searchlight newspaper in its Monday edition stated that President Mills was constructing a mansion at his Regimanuel Gray Estates residence at the Spintex Road. Even though it has now come out that the �mansion� is no mansion at all and that it is actually a two-bedroom house for the President�s security detail, the matter has still not died down because of conflicting information from government quarters. While Director of Communications at the Castle, Koku Anyidoho claimed on Adom FM that the building was a token from the management of Regimanuel Gray Estates, the company has also come out to deny it. Three letters from the Presidency have also revealed that the President is paying for the construction from his own pockets but Sir John is dissatisfied with the way events have unfolded. Speaking to Adom News, he said then candidate Mills and the NDC raised hell when former President J.A. Kufuor embarked on a similar renovation at his Ridge residence, so he found it ridiculous that President Mills had done the same thing. He said Ghanaians have been made to believe President Mills is sacrosanct, but that is far from the truth. He therefore asked the President to give a better explanation regarding the supposed �mansion� because Ghanaians are far from convinced with the explanations given. Sir John accused the President and his Ministers of amassing wealth for and building mansions across the length and breadth of the country. He also demanded that the President sack Koku Anyidoho and Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa because they are incompetent. He explained that both men had deceived the public with their conflicting explanations on the controversy. However, Deputy Minister of Tourism, James Agyenim Boateng described Sir John�s comments as unfortunate and inappropriate. He said it was improper for the NPP General Secretary to have described the President as a hypocrite because the President has not been involved in any dubious deal. James said Sir John�s position on the issue was a deliberate attempt to discredit the President. He explained to Adom News that the President had gone through the appropriate negotiations with the management of Regimanuel Grey Limited to lease the land adding that President Mills is paying for the cost of the building on his own so it is wrong for people to assume that he is using state resources to build that facility.