The 2012 Campaign Coordinator of President John Dramani Mahama, Mr. Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, has rendered an unqualified apology to victims of the recent Melcom tragedy and their families for using the unfortunate incident to describe NPP's free SHS policy.

“I made an inappropriate comment as regards the nation-hurting collapse of the Achimota Melcom building, and I render an unqualified apology to the victims of the disaster and their families,” he said.

In a recent interview on Accra-based Joy Fm in reaction to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) report which predicts a close election but a possible win for the incumbent NDC, Mr. Afriyie-Ankrah remarked that the main opposition party’s “one-legged kwashiorkor” free-SHS promise is “crumbling like the Melcom building” because of its weak foundations.

But in a short statement, Mr. Afriyie-Ankrah, who is also the deputy Minister for Local Government and Rural Development said “I am sorry for using that analogy, and I wish to retract and apologize to all Ghanaians and those affected by this disaster”.

He added that the government has demonstrated great leadership in the face of the tragedy and is prepared to do more, including taking long term measures to ensure that such a preventable disaster never occurs again.