NLA boss ready to face Special Prosecutor - Aide

The media Aide to the Director General of the National Lotteries Authorities (NLA), Razak Opoku is challenging persons who are alleging corrupt deals at the state institution to petition the Special Prosecutor for onward investigation.

He indicates that Kofi Osei-Ameyaw is prepared to face the Independent Special Prosecutor to present the actual facts on all the false allegations leveled against him in order to exonerate himself of flouting the Public Procurement laws.

According to a joyfmonline.com report, the NLA Boss awarded eleven contracts to his sister-in-law which raised questions of conflict of interest.

The CEO was also alleged to have approved the contracts worth more than half a million cedis to Rama Hassan to supply end-of-year packages.

But a livid Razak Opoku in a rebuttal to the story maintained that the claims are untrue and a deliberate attempt to soil the CEO’s hard-won reputation.

“Persons should not hide behind the camouflage of exposing corruption to run down hard working persons that have done no wrong. Trial by media and mercenary journalism is not a synonym for a genuine attempt to expose corruption. If Joy FM think that they have a solid case, I am advising them to petition Martin Amidu, the Special Prosecutor to deal with the matter, and Kofi Osei-Ameyaw is ever ready for that”, he stated.

Read full details of his response below;

Today Wednesday March 14, 2018, Joy FM’s Super Morning Show demonstrated an unfortunate bias and obvious agenda against Kofi Osei-Ameyaw, the Director-General of the National Lotteries Authority (NLA).

Producers of the ‘Corruption Watch’ segment of the show tabled for discussion, what they describe as corrupt acts by Mr. Osei-Ameyaw yet they shamelessly refused to allow his Aide and official Spokesperson to be on the platform to balance the discussion.

Although all arrangements had been concluded for Mr. Razark Opoku to be on the show, the producers at the eleventh hour, changed their minds and insisted the Spokesperson should leave the station just before the discussion started.

According to the producers of the Show, they will not allow Kofi Osei-Ameyaw’s spokesperson or any NLA Staff to defend the issues to be raised.

Before this incident, Joy FM had agreed with the Management of the NLA to send a representative on the show to respond to the issues at stake.

The representative of NLA went there for the show but he was refused to appear on the Show by the Producers of the Show.

Fairness and balance is an ethical and professional requirement in journalism. Such a clear and blatant disregard for a fair and balanced discussion is shameful, a bad image for the Multimedia brand and ought to be condemned by the National Media Commission and all well-meaning persons.

Prior to this incident, a couple of persons from multimedia and directly linked to the Corruption Watch segment had approached Mr. Osei-Ameyaw demanding all manner of favours as though it were their right for him to do them those favors.

His reluctance to grant their wish is what may have sparked this agenda to run him down.

It is obvious the Corruption Watch Segment on Joy FM is doing everything possible to help their sponsors create an impression of corruption and hang it on Mr. Osei-Ameyaw.

Surprisingly, these Corruption Watch guys on Joy Fm and their sponsors close their eyes on the fact that one man was appointed as a member of the Governing Board of the National Lotteries Authority (NLA), the same man was Chairman of the Entity Tender Committee of the NLA, the same man was also the external retainer lawyer for the NLA and the same man was able to make a cool amount of over GHC89 million as payment of works he did for the NLA between 2013 and 2017.

Rather they are fixated on a new Director General working to block revenue leakages at the NLA.

Persons should not hide behind the camouflage of exposing corruption to run down hard working persons that have done no wrong.

Trial by media and mercenary journalism is not a synonym for a genuine attempt to expose corruption.

If Joy FM think that they have a solid case, I am advising them to petition Martin Amidu, the Special Prosecutor to deal with the matter, and Kofi Osei-Ameyaw is ever ready for that.

NLA is accountable to Ghanaians and the door of Kofi Osei-Ameyaw is always ready for accountability.