Koku Anyidoho's position scrapped

The position of a Communications Director at the presidency - as Koku Anyidoho, a former spokesperson to late President Atta Mills occupied –has been scrapped by the Mahama administration.

That position was missing in the list of the President’s new appointments.

Information and Media Relations Minster, Mahama Ayariga has meanwhile confirmed to Daily Guide that “there won’t be a presidential spokesperson”.

Instead, he revealed “the minister of Information and Media Relations would be the spokesperson of government which includes the president”.

Mr Ayariga was speaking in an interview responding to queries as to who would speak for the president after his spokesperson; John Jinapor was nominated as a Deputy Minister of Energy and Petroleum.

“The position will be scrapped after he [Jinapor] has been approved by parliament and assumes his role as Deputy Minister for Energy and Petroleum. There won’t be the office of presidential spokesperson,” Mr Ayariga maintained.

He explained further that “the intention of the president is not to have a presidential spokesperson…that is the arrangement that President John Dramani Mahama wants to establish”.

“Technically, once John becomes Deputy Minister, there won’t be anybody replacing him as presidential spokesperson; so that will be the end of [that position].”

Same is said to be applicable to the office of Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur where former Deputy Information Minster James Agyenim Boateng had been tipped as likely spokesperson.

According to Mr Ayariga, “we are working towards a harmonization of the structure of communication on behalf of government, so veep’s office will be within the structure and not operate outside of it.”

With the president said to have virtually completed his ministerial appointments, it is unclear where the likes of Koku Anyidoho, James Agyenim Boateng and other spokespersons of the presidency would be heading.