Mr. Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, Minister of State at the Presidency and former Minister for Youth and Sports, is making a passionate appeal to anyone with information on acts of corruption against him in the Black Stars World Cup saga to come to the Commission to make their case.
An emotionally charged Afriyie-Ankrah who testified at yesterday’s sitting with a power point presentation and video evidence, maintained that he did all he could to ensure that the national team went far in the World Cup but things went out of hand at a critical stage.
He expressed regret at the attempts by a section of the media to make allegations of corruption against him, reiterating an earlier statement that he was not a signatory to the World Cup accounts.
He challenged anyone who has a case against him on the matter under investigation to come to the Commission to make the case since it was the right platform to do same.
Recollecting the pressure brought to bear on him to increase the proposed appearance fee, the Minister disclosed that, government had indicated it could pay $82,500 appearance fees to each player against the demand of $100,000 by the players.
However, “I was kowtowed, just as the same was done to the state, to pay the $100, 000,” he said with regret.
On the question of how he felt when the players refused to train for two days to press home their demand for cash payment of their appearance, an emotionally-stricken Elvis managed to utter the following words, “My Lord, I felt devastated because...”
It took the consolation of the Commission Chairman for him to restore his composure. "Honorable relax, honorable relax; we are helping Mother Ghana," the Chairman told him.
Mr Afriyie Ankrah has been under media attacks since the Black Stars return from the ill-fated FIFA World Cup in Brazil where the team failed to go past the group stages.
In the wake of public dissatisfaction over circumstances surrounding the poor show and player agitation, government set-up a three-man commission to come out with facts on what happened in Brazil.