Worried Bagbin tells Mahama: I will advise you in Public

Faced with the difficulty in advising President Mahama in the closet, former Majority Leader, Alban Bagbin has gone public with his wise counsel, hoping to draw the president’s attention to the corrupt practices under his administration.

Sounding livid and frustrated, Mr Bagbin told Joy FM’s Top Story on Friday that he is “deeply worried” about how the country is being governed.

He claimed he has for far too long “complained in silence” about the raging corruption which is eating deep into the fabric of the society and could no longer look on for the country to end up in the abyss.

Mr Bagbin maintained he is not alone in the struggle but the rest, for fear of victimization and partisan attack, would prefer to keep “quiet and mute, and suffering in silence”.

Asked why he would not direct such a grave concern to the president in person, Mr Bagbin indicated that the president’s schedule makes him remote and therefore difficult for him, like many of the president's appointees, to meet him.

“So many of you will be surprised that even though we are there, we don’t have access to the president to talk to him.

“Recently, I had to call the president for me to say since I cannot get you people in private to advise, I will start advising you in public, because I am deeply worried about the situation in Ghana.

“Because we have all the potentials, all the resources including the human resources to turn this country around, but unfortunately they are all deciding to hate the truth.”

Mr Bagbin’s explosion follows Joy News’ investigations, which uncovered massive corruption in the country including the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA) and the country’s premier health facility, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.

He underscored that the Constitution has entrusted the fight against corruption in some institutions, and it was therefore binding on government to refer issues of corruption to these institutions, when they arise and not sideline them.

Mr. Bagbin, who is one of the three presidential appointees responsible for priority projects, has in an earlier interview with Joy News criticised the report on GYEEDA, which was sent to the presidency instead of being investigated by the appropriate institutions.

Mr. Bagbin, the current Member of Parliament for Nadowli-Kaleo, also said he has over a decade been attending conferences on corruption and recalled how a motion he raised at the Canadian Parliament was applauded by his colleagues from the West and Eastern countries.

He said upon his return home and with the help of other stakeholders, they drafted a national strategy on how to fight corruption.

“But governments upon governments have looked on the other side, that strategy is not being implemented. And so corruption on a daily basis, is now becoming a way of life,” he intimated.

He claimed he has received calls from several persons condemning him for being candid with his opinion, thinking he was attacking the president, but noted further that his comments had nothing to do with the president.

He, however, remarked, “I am used to this; I have fought this so many years up to date...and would not be disturbed by whatever is happening but stay focused and make sure the right thing is done.”