Quaitoo’s resignation honourable – Rev. Asante

Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, William Quaitoo, did the honourable thing by resigning from his post over his ethnocentric comments, the Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev Professor Emmanuel Asante, has said.

The presidency announced Mr Quaitoo’s resignation on Tuesday night. A letter to that effect read: “The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, this evening accepted the resignation from office of the Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Hon. William Quaitoo, MP, which takes immediate effect. The President wished him the very best in his future endeavours.”

Mr Quaittoo, in a recent radio interview had described northerners as “liars” and “difficult” people to deal with.

Even though the lawmaker apologised unreservedly for his "unguarded" comments, several critics said the MP’s apology was not enough. The Minority in Parliament asked him to resign following the comment.

Reacting to the MP’s resignation on Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Wednesday, 30 August 2017, Prof Asante advised public office holders to be circumspect in their language.

He told show host, Moro Awudu, “He’s [Quaitoo] done an honourable thing and I think this should put an end to discussions on this matter and we should move forward as Ghanaians...

“In other jurisdictions when individuals in responsible positions feel that they have done something that has somehow compromised their position as leaders, they themselves resign. He’s done an honourable thing and I don’t think we should go into the matter whether the president should have dismissed him or not. Whatever the situation is, the minister in question feels that this is the best way to go about it to allow the government to go on with its work and also to ensure that Ghanaians will be united to ensure we will be able to do what we ought to do.

“It’s an honourable thing, but it’s a lesson that people have to learn from that people in responsible positions should be circumspect but again as Ghanaians, I will advise us to understand that to err is human, to forgive is divine and so sometimes we should not try and politicise every statement. We should try as much as possible to be understanding because we all make such mistakes. But I think is important for us to put a closure to this whole issue.”