General News of Saturday, 24 November 2012

Source: Joy Online

Akufo-Addo did not finish Oxford but Amissah-Arthur’s CV is worse – Kwabena Agyapong

A former Presidential Spokesperson, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong has confirmed that the NPP flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo enrolled into Oxford University in the United Kingdom, but failed to complete his course there.

A member of the NDC Communications Team, Felix Kwakye Ofosu speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen earlier this week, questioned the motive behind Nana Akufo-Addo's exclusion of his academic credential at the prestigious institution from his Curriculum Vitae (CV) and challenged the NPP to prove that their flag-bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo was a student of the Oxford University.

Felix Kwakye Ofosu who also speaks for pro-NDC group Research and Advocacy Platform (RAP), could not fathom why the NPP flag-bearer would hide the fact that he attended a high profile university like Oxford and also exclude it from his CV.

A senior member of the NDC Tsatsu Tsikata also waded into the matter and said the manner in which the NPP flagbearer and his cohorts have dealt with the Oxford University question casts a slur on his [Nana Addo's] integrity.

Mr. Tsikata explained on Asempa FM that as a fresh student at Oxford in 1969, he heard that Nana Akufo-Addo had left the school under strange circumstance. He said there were rumours then that Nana Akufo-Addo was dismissed from the university, but could neither deny nor confirm the rumours.

But Speaking on the weekly News File programme on Joy News TV’s and Joy FM Saturday, Mr. Agyapong disclosed that Nana Akufo-Addo attended Oxford University but refused to give details as to why his party’s flagbearer could not finish.

The senior NPP member stated that Nana Addo did not see it as necessary to include Oxford in his CV because he did not obtain any certificate from there.

According to Kwabena Agyapong, there is no doubt about Nana Addo’s credentials “as one of the three most respected legal practitioners over the last 40 years of Ghana’s history”.

He however expressed surprise at the position of Mr. Tsatsu Tsika, whom he said is as “a good lawyer and a seasoned politician”. Mr. Agyapong described the matter as “distasteful, unwanted and unecessary”.

Mr. Agyapong further described Vice President Amissah-Arthur as the “worse scenario in this case” for putting information on government website that he graduated with M.Sc from the University of Ghana in 1976, when his name is not even in the list of those who graduated with M.Sc in that year”.

He demanded from Mr. Amissah-Arthur to explain to Ghanaians about the claim on his CV that he “graduated with M.Sc in 1976 and a B.Sc in 1974”.

Editor in Chief of New Crusading Guide newspaper Abdul Malik Kweku Baako who was on the programme, said " the CV thing is mischief to claim that Nana was dismissed for smoking wee".

According to Baako, the group had for last four years been trying without success to get information from the institution bordering the exact reason why Nana truncated his course at Oxford.