Deputy Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, Francis Asenso Boakye has denied an allegation by political scientist, Dr. Amoako Baah that he denied him access to the president.
In an interview on Accra-based Neat FM, Dr. Baah said the Deputy Chief of Staff and some other persons around the president prevented him from seeing president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
He said although the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo asked him to speak to Mr. Asenso Boakye to enable him meet the president, the deputy chief of staff denied him that privilege by not responding to his calls.
Reacting to the allegation in a rejoinder, the deputy chief of staff said he forwarded Dr. Baah’s request to the appropriate persons responsible for such meetings, and that it is not true he failed to pick calls from the political scientist.
“The assertion that I did not pick his calls on several occasions is not accurate.”
Read full rejoinder below
RE: ASENSO-BOAKYE AND CO PREVENTING ME FROM SEEING THE PRESIDENT ~ DR. AMOAKO BAAH.
My attention has been drawn to a video, circulating on social media, in which Dr. Amoako Baah in an interview on Neat FM’s afternoon talk show, Meman Nti hosted by Mr Adakabri Frimpong Manso, made remarks against my person which needs to be clarified.
In the interview, Dr. Amoako Baah asserted that the First Lady, upon consulting her, directed him to see me to set up a meeting between him (Dr. Baah) and the President of the Republic.
Indeed, Dr. Amoako Baah came to my office sometime this year to discuss a possible meeting with the President. Courtesy would not allow me to disclose the details of the subject matter for which he needed to see the President. Suffice it to say that it was not about the referendum as portrayed in the interview.
As is the practice, I forwarded his request to the responsible person in charge of the President’s appointments and meetings.
Given the huge volume of requests received from various stakeholders, including party executives and members for an audience with the President and with his demanding schedule, it is often the case that requests are noted for follow up action and an appointment arranged when an appropriate time has been determined.
Having made his request known and communicated same to him, it is, therefore, difficult for me to accept Dr. Amoako Baah’s sensational claim that he has been deliberately impeded from seeing the President.
The assertion that I did not pick his calls on several occasions is not accurate. When he called on me to facilitate his meeting with the President, I took and saved his new number, having told me he was no more using the old one I had. If the intent was to sever ties with him or ignore his calls, I would not have saved the new number. In any case, I receive a large number of missed calls each day but endeavour to call back once the number is known to me.
Let me state unequivocally that I have no such power to stop anyone, not least, senior members of the party or government from meeting with the President. That is not my job, respectfully.
It is, therefore, erroneous for Dr. Amoako Baah and Adakabri Frimpong Manso to create the impression that I have been barricading the President from being seen or met by Dr. Amoako Baah or any other person for that matter.
Though Dr Amoako Baah, in a conversation with me later, has indicated that he has been misconstrued and promised to clarify the issues, I find it regretable that he misrepresented the facts.
I appeal to the general public to disregard those assertions and the sensationalism that the host of the programme, Adakabri Frimpong Manson sought to create during the interview.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana