Adu Boahen
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has terminated the appointment of the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Charles Adu Boahen.
This comes on the backdrop of revelations by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, in an investigative piece, that the Minister of State had used the name of Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia to allegedly solicit $200,000 from investors, with a promise of facilitating a meeting with the Vice-President.
A statement signed and issued yesterday by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, said the termination of his appointment was with immediate effect.
The statement from the Presidency said: “After being made aware of the allegations, the President spoke to Mr. Adu Boahen, after which he took the decision to terminate his appointment. The President has also referred his conduct to the Special Prosecutor for further investigation as proof of the commitment of his administration to remain as transparent as possible.”
Veep’s response
In response, Vice-President Bawumia has warned that he won’t allow his name to be used for corrupt activities because his integrity is his “most cherished asset” in life.
The Vice-President insisted he was not aware of any dealing by the Minister for which his name could be associated.
“My attention has been drawn to a video by Anas Aremeyaw Anas showing the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Charles Adu Boahen, apparently using my name, inter alia, to peddle influence and collect money from supposed investors,” Dr Bawumia posted on his social media handle yesterday.
The Vice-President categorically stated that if what the Minister is alleged to have said is accurately captured in the video, then his position as a Minister of State was untenable. He stressed that Adu Boahene should be dismissed summarily and investigated.
In Anas’ teaser on his Facebook page, he also reported that the Spokesperson to the Vice-President, Dr. Gideon Boako, had told him there had been no instance where the Vice-President had asked for money before meeting an investor.
“So, on top of my head and having been with him closely, I will say no. I know how discreet he, the Vice-President, is, and he is smart and he wouldn’t even dare do such a thing,” Anas quoted Dr. Gideon Boako as saying.
Dr. Boako also stressed that the Vice-President had not asked anyone to raise funds for his campaign.
Clean Bawumia
Commenting on the issue, the Founding President of Imani Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe, asserted that the Vice-President does not need any financial inducement to carry out his duties as the Second Gentleman of the land.
Mr Cudjoe thinks that Dr Adu-Boahen was too excited when he met with the investigative team of Anas Aremeyaw Anas who posed as Arab investors with millions of dollars to invest in Ghana.
He noted that the Minister of State was not measured, and engaged in grandstanding about people (the President and Vice-President) who were unaware of his dealing with the supposed Arab investors.
“When making business deals, one must always be measured. Grandstanding should be avoided at all cost, especially when it involves others who are unaware of the deals. Not sure Veep Bawumia needs financial ‘pimping’ from anyone. The Minister was too excited at the opportunity. Will wait for the full video though,” he stated.
According to Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Charles Adu Boahen engaged in influence peddling on how he was capable of meeting with President Akufo-Addo and Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia to facilitate the work of the supposed investors, using monetary inducement.
However, Mr Cudjoe insisted that it is unlikely that Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia would need someone to influence him monetarily to facilitate such investments.
About The Author
