Frimpong-Boateng
Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, has failed to validate allegations against Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah in a 2021 document in which he alleged the Minister was involved in a media plot to destroy his image.
In parts of a 37-page report authored by the former Minister and then Chairman of the now-dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (ICIM) to the Chief of Staff, he has accused the Ofoase-Ayirebi lawmaker of assembling a group of journalists to orchestrate a plot to run him down in the fight against galamsey.
Following a robust rebuttal from the Information Minister that the allegations were a total fabrication, many felt the burden was on Prof. Frimpong-Boateng to provide some evidence to buttress his claims.
Disappointment
According to the Information Minister’s statement of April 21, 2023, even though he was disappointed in Prof. Frimpong Boateng’s fabrications against him, he forgave him.
“Over the years, I had nothing but great admiration for Professor Frimpong-Boateng’s public-spirited works. As an inspirational citizen, I feel gravely offended over the false claims he has made and the hurtful conclusions he has sought to exact about me precisely because of the great esteem in which I have held him.
“I trust that in the coming months and years, he will reflect deeply upon his own actions and comments which have led to his challenges. He should kindly leave me out of his personal fights. I am utterly disappointed but I forgive him,” he stated
The Information Minister stressed that the meeting Prof. Frimpong-Boateng referenced was a Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) event, jointly organised with the Bank of Ghana on financial reporting which he attended. He, therefore, insisted that the meeting was not to oust anybody from the government.
Hasty conclusion
However, instead of directly responding to Mr Nkrumah’s denial, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, in a statement, shifted from his claims, and rather offered advice to the Minister. He even went further to say that the Minister is young enough to be his fourth son.
“My advice is, always remember that political power is both short-lived and effervescent. In about 2 years’ time you may no longer be in government, and you may experience the real world as former high-profile political power holders do.
“I will urge you to do your work diligently and avoid the coded and evil tactics Mr. Paul Adom-Otchere boastfully and unashamedly told the world on ‘Good Evening Ghana’ that you employ to deal with your real and perceived enemies,” Frimpong Boateng said in the statement.
The former Minister’s actions have raised concerns about the credibility of his report and whether or not the mention of Mr Oppong Nkrumah was a move to deliberately impugn the reputation of his former colleagues because he had been perceived as having failed in leading the anti-galamsey fight.
Consequently, many Ghanaians have expressed shock on social media at the allegations made by the former Minister against a number of government officials and his inability to substantiate any.
Others have questioned why he has failed to substantiate his allegations, and has instead opted for a comparison of ages while offering advice.
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