Power crisis in Veep’s office

REPORTS REACHING The Chronicle in Kumasi indicate that the office of the Vice President at the seat of government is literally on fire. Two factions, each claiming to be very loyal to the Vice President, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, are emerging to the detriment of the smooth running of the office.

Mr. Baffoe Bonnie, a senior Aide to the Vice President is said to be leading one faction, comprising Abu Jinapo, the Spokesperson to the Vice President, Chief Director Roger Asowuni and ADC Osman Razak, while the other faction has Mr. Michael Obuobi, an aide to Veep Mahama, as the leader.

They have created crisis at the Veep’s office, so much so that one Miss Mawusi, a trusted Personal Secretary to the Veep, has been sacrificed and dismissed. Mawusi has, however, denied the allegations, insisting that she is on a two week leave and has not been dismissed as is being alleged.

Aggrieved insiders told The Chronicle that the unhealthy development is affecting the smooth running of the office and has come to the point that the staff are afraid of their own shadows, as there is no trust in their work.

The complaint is that the Obuobi faction is not comfortable with the Baffoe Bonnie faction for the simple reason that they (Obuobi group) are being sidelined in their role at the vice President’s office, even though they struggled with the Vice President through thick and thin during the electioneering campaign.

Baffoe Bonnie is also accused of usurping the functions of other staffers and not treating the other side well.

One of the groups is also said to be feeding the Veep’s wife with false information which led to the alleged dismissal of Miss Mawusi and whose place is yet to be filled at the office of the Vice President, a claim which has been denied by Mawusi when The Chronicle spoke to her yesterday.

The other allegation is that Abu Jinapor, who was not part of the Veep’s campaign team, has warmed his way into Baffoe Bonnie’s inner circle and enjoying the fruits of their labour. When The Chronicle contacted Mr. Abu Jinapor on the allegations, he debunked the allegations and existence of conflicting camps in the Veep’s office.

He stressed that duties at the office had been arranged in a manner which makes duplication of roles impossible.

He noted that each individual who holds a position at the Veeps office has his specific assignment, adding that the overall interest of the Vice President and his office remains supreme in all their activities.

He explained that the hierarchy at the Veeps office has Mr. Baffoe Bonnie as the Head and the Presidential Staffer in charge of political and administration, while he (Mr. Abu Jinapor) is the Special Assistant in charge of Communication and Information, with Obuobi playing the role of an aide to the Veep, in charge of technical issues.

He hinted that the staff meet every Tuesday to discuss and come out with decisions before implementation, and therefore did not fathom where the issue of wranglings and supposed conflict was coming from.

He noted that some people have always made it a point to cause confusion in the government by coming out with unsubstantiated allegations against public officials, and advised such persons to stop creating divisions.