Prof Kobby Mensah, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, has taken a swipe at New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a cousin of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, over his defence of the ‘family and friends’ tag of the current government.

The academic could not believe Gabby’s assertion that family members of the president have an edge when it comes to political appointments because their grandfather game them good education.

Prof Mensah, in a post shared on X, on Monday, January 22, 2024, said that Gabby’s justification did not take into account the principle of conflict of interest.

He added that the NPP leading member was making such a comment because he had become “soaked in power.”

He wrote that, “Propaganda! The principle of conflict of interest doesn’t make sense anymore to those who feel are more educated than all Ghanaians because their Grand Papa took that seriously than the grannies of all of us.

“That’s what happens when you become soaked in power."

What Gabby said:

Gabby, in a recent interview on Star FM, made the point that Akufo-Addo’s grandfather fathered a lot of children who got head starts in life because he (the grandfather) took their education seriously.

“… Because they got education early at a time that just a minority of Ghanaians were getting education, it gave them, if you like, to a point a head start. I mean, that's the point.

“I'm just making the point that I don't know how many of you in this room have a grandfather who had over 100 children?… I did. Okay. How many? How many? How many (children) did your grandfather have?” he asked while speaking with Bola Ray on Starr Chat.

He added, “… so really, that's the point I'm making. Okay. But he was serious about his children's education. And because they grew up in a household where public service came as second nature, a lot of them went in.”

Gabby also pointed out that only one member of Akufo-Addo’s family, Ken Ofori-Atta, who is the Minister for Finance, is a member of cabinet.

He explained that Ofori-Atta’s appointment is based on merit and not because he is related to Akufo-Addo.

“First of all, he (the road minister) is not a family member okay, you've mentioned one person, Ken Ofori-Atta. Ken Ofori-Atta actually resigned from his multimillion-dollar company to dedicate his life to Akufo-Addo’s campaign; to the NPP.

“So, he's appointed and his appointment is just because he’s family member; just forget the fact that he helped to raise money, he put resources in there (his own resources), he was a critical member of the campaign and he was a successful businessman, a private sector person, who has something to contribute,” he said.

He added that Akufo-Addo cannot appoint his adversaries into government, saying “President has about 6000 people to appoint. 6000 okay and then you talk about friends? Should he go and appoint his enemies? Can we talk about something else?”

BAI/AE