Accra, April 14, GNA - Former President Jerry John Rawlings said on Monday that the reasons for the removal his special aide, Mr Victor Smith, was not "a matter for public consumption". A statement from the Office of the former President, who is also the Founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said Mr Rawlings would not "be cajoled into offering an explanation because sponsored rumour mongers are at it again churning falsehoods".

The statement was signed by Dr K.A. Caesar, an aide to the former President. It said Mr Smith, who had worked for Mr Rawlings for many years, had been relieved of his duties and that the office of the former President thanked him and wished him well in his future endeavours. "This office understands and appreciates that news emanating from the former first couple is of major interest to the media particularly those for whom truth and crosschecking of information is an irrelevance. "We are thus not surprised at the different reasons and speculation as to why Mr Smith was removed from office. It is not unusual for the praise-singers of a particular party to use stories about the former President as a diversion from the myriad of problems facing mother Ghana because of their eight years of misrule."

The statement said some of these speculations bordered on absurdity and cautioned the media and public commentators to respect the dignity of ex-President Rawlings, as he had not come out to give any official position on the rationale behind his action. "One story making the rounds is that Mr Smith lost his job because he managed to convince a Nigerian donor who wanted to give money to the NDC through President Rawlings to rather give it directly to Professor John Atta Mills.

"As Founder of the NDC it is absolutely ridiculous and devoid of logic for anyone to even imagine, more so concoct such an allegation. This absurdity is completely false. "Managers of the various media have to appreciate that this matter is not a circus and they should be circumspect about what they publish and be cautious not to abuse their freedoms," the statement reiterated.