Friday, 29 March

I wasn’t a recruit of Babies-with-sharp-teeth gang – Kwakye Ofosu

Politics
Felix Kwakye Ofosu is a former deputy minister of communication

A former Deputy Minister of Communication, Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has denied he was recruited by Prof Kwamena Ahwoi and other elders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to go after the party’s founder, former President Jerry John Rawlings any time the ex-military leader launched an attack on President John Atta Mills at the time.

In his recently-launched book, ‘Working with Rawlings’, Prof Awhoi chronicled, among others things, that some elders of the NDC adopted the attack strategy against Mr Rawlings, which, he said “worked” during a post-book launch interview with Accra-based Citi TV.

Mr Rawlings, would later describe those young attackers unleashed on him as ‘Babies with sharp teeth’

However, Mr Kwakye Ofosu, in a statement, denied ever attacking Mr Rawlings on the promptings of any elders within the NDC.

Below is Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu’s full statement:

I have become aware of media reports suggesting that I was recruited together with others to denigrate or attack President Jerry John Rawlings following his criticism of the late President John Evans Atta Mills of blessed memory.

While acknowledging that the media reports are at best an exaggeration of portions of a book authored by the highly respected Prof Kwamena Ahwoi, I wish to place on record that at no point have I been part of any plot, recruitment exercise or strategy to “talk back” at President Rawlings.

It is a matter of public knowledge that I and others have rallied in the past to correct misimpressions created about the late President Mills during his tenure.

My contribution to any such effort was based purely on principle, conviction, and loyalty to the then President of Ghana and the leader of the NDC.

I have never required prompting or goading to speak about what I believe to be right or wrong.

All my contributions in the said matter were devoid of insults or aspersions as claimed by the media reports. It is worth noting that the book in question speaks about our resort to logic rather than insults.

Any claim, therefore, that there was a grand design to malign anyone for criticising President Mills is inaccurate.

Felix Kwakye Ofosu

Former Deputy Communications Minister

5th August 2020

Similarly, Mr Kwakye Ofosu’s former boss, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, in a statement, denied being one of those people.

“I have read excerpts of Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi’s book, ‘Working with Rawlings’ that appear to suggest I was among a group of young politicians, who were purposely engaged by him and others to respond to and ‘talk back’ at former President Rawlings for the latter’s attacks on the personality of the late President of Ghana, His Excellency John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills.

“Respectfully, I need to place on record that this claim is wholly and completely inaccurate and untrue”, the former presidential spokesperson said.

“As a young man and politician with core convictions”, Dr Omane Boamah said: “I was never engaged nor could I have allowed myself to be used by anyone to talk back at former President Rawlings”.

He continued: “My principled stand in defending the late President Atta Mills, without insults, against attacks I thought were underserved was borne out of my respect and appreciation of the personality of the late President Mills – the Asomdwehene, his pureness of heart and other sterling and unique qualities that he possessed to a fault”.

“The suggestion that my defence of the late President was part of a deliberate ‘strategy’ by elders is irksome to me”, he said.

“It does not reflect my personality as a politician of conviction and not of convenience”, he noted.

“For the record, I state emphatically and unequivocally that any claim that I was a recruited participant in any such grand agenda could only be the result of an inadvertent error in recollection and not founded on anything that remotely resembles the truth”, Dr Omane Boamah stressed.

Meanwhile, Mr Rawlings has said he will soon deal with Prof Ahwoi.

Among other things, Prof Ahwoi said President John Evans Atta Mills almost resigned as a result of some comments Mr Rawlings made about him in Tamale.

Also, the book claims Mr Rawlings squeezed the testicles of Mr Bede Ziedeng, one of the party’s stalwarts, during an encounter.  

In a statement, however, Mr Rawlings said inasmuch as “I find it tiring and tedious to be engaging in self-defence when I have given my all, all these years, I will soon deal with the callous agenda of bile by the likes of Kwamena Ahwoi, who are desperately seeking control of the NDC party”.

He said the “NDC could, should and has survived on the authority of the word but if care is not taken, it will collapse and drown as has been happening, on the word of those in authority”.

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Source: Classfmonline.com