National Security using Drillship saga as diversionary tactic

Many think-tanks are voicing out the possible ways to unravel the hidden truth in the sale of the Drillship and others are yearning for the prosecution of GNPC officials whose negligence led to the sale of the Drillship.

But to the National Youth Organizer of the NPP, the Drillship saga is a plot by the National Security to divert the attention of Ghanaians from the 2014 budget discussion.


Emmanuel Atefuah Danso posited that though the Judgment Debt Commission has been established to deal with issues relating to judgment debts from 1992 to date in the country, the quick interest of the commission to address the Drillship saga, to him, is a ploy masterminded by the National Security to kill the 2014 budget discussion which in his words is “uninspiring, retrogressive and hopeless” in dealing with the plight of Ghanaians.


The GNPC Drillship saga has seen former Energy Minister and his Deputy in the erstwhile Kufuor administration, Hon Albert Kan Dapaah and Hon K.T. Hammond, appearing before the Judgment Debt Commissioner, Justice Yaw Apau, to give evidence involving the transaction of the sale of the Drillship.


K.T Hammond told the Commission that monies accrued from the sale of the Drillship were given to Ghana Ambassador to UK.

The former boss of GNPC, Tsatsu Tsikata in his testimony revealed that there was no judgment debt to settle before he left the corporation; adding that the Drillship was a valuable asset before he vacated his position as the Chief Executive Officer of GNPC.


Reacting to the testimony of Tsatsu Tsikata on Okay Fm, he averred that it was embarrassing to hear such testimony as it was after his (Tsatsu’s) tenure that the debt was discovered as due to the hedging policy GNPC implemented with the funds of the corporation.


He added that the back and forth attempt to lay blame at the doorsteps of former Attorney General, Nana Akufo-Addo, and ex-President Kufuor as the primary cause of the Drillship saga will not succeed.


“….now people are playing [to the] gallery with the issue of the Drillship…. I have said when there is a topical issue such as the budget which a lot people are saying that there is no hope in it for Ghanaians, they then quickly brought in another issue to kill it; I have said that this is part of National Security’s antics because any time there is a topical issue, they come up with another issue to divert the attention of Ghanaians from the bad governance of President Mahama,” he asserted.