Former Gender and Social Protection Minister, Otiko Afisa Djaba, has disclaimed one, Johnson Kwame Gyinde Mayours, purporting to be her Campaign manager and giving reasons for her refusal to accept the President’s offer of appointment as Ambassador to Italy and also quitting politics for good.
The Former National Women Organiser of the NPP, was one of the casualties in a recent reshuffle by President Akufo-Addo. She was appointed as an Ambassador to Italy.
However, Ms. Otiko disclosed that she had resigned from active politics and has decided to turn down the appointment. “At 56 years, I want to relax and enjoy my family and life and, therefore, I am not ready to take up the appointment as Ambassador to Italy,” she disclosed in an interview with State owned News Paper, the Daily Graphic.
Apart from that she is going to take care of her ex-husband who had stroke for the past six years; adding, “I am the one who has been taking care of him since he got sick and I cannot abandon him now”
Meanwhile, her decision has been interpreted variedly across the political divide with some pointing fingers to an alleged long standing feud she has with ‘some powers that be’ at the corridors power which came to a heat off recently as the reasons for her resignation.
The rumour gained a wide currency with a statement from one Johnson Gyinde Mayours who holds himself as her Campaign Manager and has been proffering reasons for the quitting of the former Gender and Social Protection Minister from active politics and also declining her appointment as Ghana’s Ambassador to Italy.
The said Johnson Kwame Gyinde in a reported radio interview which has gone viral in several media WhatsApp platforms stated that Ms. Otiko Djaba rejected the Ambassadorial position because there were hatred and no trust for her in the party she belongs to.
Even though Madam Otiko refrained from mentioning any antagonism she has received from party in the Interview with Daily Graphic, some online portals and social media platforms have given their own twist and it comes on the heels of the statement from her So called “Campaign Manager”.
Some of the Portals claim, Otiko Djaba had a brawl and a near fist fight during a meeting at the Jubilee house in the presence of the president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Freddie Blay, the chairman of the ruling NPP. According to the reports, before the NPP congress, Akufo Addo issued a directive to all his appointees to support and vote for Freddy Blay. Otiko defied and ignored that directive, telling Nana Addo, “We are not robots and cannot be pushed about like kids” and went ahead to support Stephen Ntim.
“Otiko was then summoned to the Flagstaff house after the Koforidua congress hence queried for disobeying the president before Freddy Blay and John Boadu. Otiko got angry and had serious exchanges with the president and Freddie Blay. Out of anger, she told Freddie Blay to stay out of NPP matters and took her bag and angrily walked away.
Otiko’s behavior before the president angered him so he made the decision to reshuffle her out of his government completely but at that moment John Boadu quickly reminded him that Otiko was one of the few Krobo’s in government and thus kicking her out could send bad signals to the Krobos.
The Upper East Regional minister was the one originally penciled for the role of ambassador to Italy but a decision was made to rather send Otiko to Italy.
Otiko was not informed of the reshuffle. She only heard her reshuffle on radio and said, “this man is vindictive”. She subsequently told her friends that she is not going to accept the appointment and will bow out of politics entirely but promised to teach Akufo-Addo a lesson”.
But Speaking to Atinka FM’s Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Madam Otiko Djaba discounted the claims and statements made by the said Johnson Kwame Gyinde, and describes his statement and its subsequent reportage as a figment of his own imagination and urged Ghanaians to treat it with the contempt it deserves.
According to her she has called the said Kwame Gyinde who was part of her Campaign Team when she was gunning for the National Women Organiser Position to desist from holding himself as her Campaign Manager and spokesperson, since his services ceased after the Campaign season.
“even if he was my Campaign Manager, how many years has gone by since I was elected as the National Women Organiser?” she queried, and therefore called on Ghanaians and the media to respect her rights and privacy.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Lawrence Kojo Addo