100K Saga: Morton defends ‘damage control’ attempt with illustration

President of the Millennium Excellence Foundation, Ashim Morton has responded to claims by some Minority members suggesting that comments he made at a press conference following the recently held Ghana Expatriates Business Awards (GEBA) were unserious and a mere attempt to ‘cover up’ his wrongs.

Mr. Ashim Morton told the media at a news conference after GEBA that the seats at the high table at the awards were initially designated for him as the president of MEF and not the Head of State; President Akufo-Addo. Mr. Morton was reported to have indicated that it only became necessary that he ‘gives up’ his seat for President Akufo-Addo when the latter’s attendance was confirmed ultimately.

Prime witness in the probe, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, however, expressed doubts about Mr. Morton’s comments when he faced the 5-member ad-hoc committee tasked to probe the issue Thursday, January 11, 2018.

According to him, it was belittling for him to have even, in the slightest way, suggested that he offered his seat to President Akufo-Addo because his presence was unexpected.

“I don’t believe what he [Ashim Morton] said. For him to say that he gave his seat to the President was even to belittle our President; that it is his seat that he gave to our President when because of our President, the program had to be postponed. I have great doubts and I don’t believe him that he gave his seat and he was referring to himself,” the legislator said.

Defending his earlier comments at Monday’s sitting in Parliament with diagrams, Mr. Morton told the committee that his comments were completely misinterpreted.

According to him, the initial arrangement of 19 persons with the Head of State at the centre and the President of MEF beside him was altered and an additional seat was added to the original number to make 20 seats in all after they were informed that the wife of the former President will be joining in.

The allocated seat for the Head of State; Akufo-Addo, therefore, had to be shifted to the next seat (where his (Morton’s) seat was originally placed prior to the addition of the extra seat (Former First Lady’s seat) and he eventually had to move to another seat.



Mr. Morton among other things indicated that he was admittedly in no position to offer his seat to the President of the Republic of Ghana contrary to what is being speculated in the media.

“In the media, there is this assertion that I am attempting to make myself the President of the Republic of Ghana and that is not so, I can never do that”.

Mr. Ashim Morton appeared before the 5-member committee together with the Chair of the Millennium Excellence Foundation, Victor Gbeho and Counsel for the company on Monday, January 15.