No friction between Sports Minister and his deputy - Adjei-Baah

The Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Elvis Adjei–Baah, has emphatically refuted allegations by renowned and respected journalist Kweku Baako that the Sports Minister Isaac Asiamah and his deputy Pius Enam Hadzide have been at loggerheads for some time now.

Kweku Baako made these allegations last week on Peace FM after the Presidency issued a statement that it had suspended the Deputy Sports Minister for his role in the visa scandal that rocked Ghana at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

Hadzide who was delegated by Isaac Asiamah to oversee Ghana’s participation at the Games has become a person of interest in the ongoing investigations of 60 deported Ghanaian’s who posed as journalists in order to enter Australia.

Other persons that have been suspended by the President of Ghana are National Sports Authority boss, Robert Sarfo-Mensah and Board Chairman of the NSA Kwadwo Baah-Agyemang.

According to Baako who has a reputation of revealing sacred facts, the mishap that happened with the Commonwealth Games could be attributed to the lack of camaraderie between the minister and his deputy.

Kweku Baako recounted that before the suspension of the Deputy Sports Minister, a preliminary investigation had been conducted and apparently, a report which was at the behest of Sector Minister, was sent to the Presidency which may have informed the decision of the President to suspend his Deputy.

He further told host Kwami Sefa Kayi that per the report he is privy to regarding the issue, the Ministry is a “disaster zone”.

“Right at the Ministry, at the very top, there’s some little conflict. There’s some friction at the very top. Yes, I think they’ve been at loggerheads”.

He therefore called for an overhaul of the entire Ministry and also asked the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police Service to “fast-track” their investigations to ascertain the truth.

“What is it that’s hidden in that Ministry? Maybe we need an overhaul; a total overhaul. It’s a disaster zone; this country, when it comes to Sports”, Mr. Baako stressed.

But Adjei-Baah who speaks for the Sports Ministry and has seen the sector Minister and his deputy work on a daily basis claims Mr Kweku Baako’s allegations are untrue and unfounded.

“We at the Ministry believe that there is a very cordial relationship between the Minister and his deputy. If you will recall, during the Meet the Press, you heard the very kind word the Minister said about his deputy, stressing how his deputy is an able lieutenant to him. To even trust his deputy with the huge task of coordinating this games is testament of his belief in him but of course some unfortunate things have occurred and now people want to use that as a basis to make all kinds of allegations and insinuations. I don’t know where Kweku Baako is coming from but I can tell you that there is no friction whatsoever between the minister and his deputy.”

It is now unknown if Hadzide will come back to his post but grapevine sources say the government is lining up former Hearts CEO, Vincent Odotei-Sowah as a possible replacement for the embattled