I was forced to resign – Former BoG Second Deputy Governor

The former Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiama has revealed that he was pushed out of office by persons who felt uncomfortable with him being in the saddle.

According to him, there were conscious efforts to frustrate him till he exited his position, citing the instance where there was an earlier communication that he had resigned when he was actually at post.

Dr Johnson Asiama resigned from his position on January 1, 2018, taking an early shower as he would have exited the Bank of Ghana in April 2020. The resignation came after weeks of media speculation of his exit.

His lawyer, Kwadjoga Adawudu in an interview on Joy FM’s NewsFile show Saturday said Dr. Asiama had to bow out because stuff he needed to work with were taken away from him which disabled him from working efficiently.

“Things were not as it was, it was becoming more unfriendly. Functions that he ought to perform…a lot of things had been taken from him and it was becoming unsupportive, uncooperative and on his reflection, the best thing for him and his family and in the broader interest of the state, he had to bow out.

“When you’re working as a team and you’re not being fed with information or in your regular function, you’re being relegated…not being put into the picture on what goes on it just tells you that the environment is not conducive for you to work again. When impediments are put in your way and you’re not getting information to work with, then there’s no need to hang on. It would have been his wish to stay and work, but the way things were, there was no way he could be there,” Lawyer Adawudu said.

Dr Asiama holds a PhD (Economics) from the University of Southampton, UK and an MPhil (Economics) from the University of Ghana, Legon.

He has published widely in journals in the area of monetary economics and economic growth and has a strong research interest in monetary policy modelling, economic stabilization and long-term growth in developing countries.