Why is Abeiku Santana still on Okay FM during office hours? – Okraku-Mantey raises concern

Former Deputy Minister for Tourism, Mark Okraku-Mantey, has accused Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey, known as “Abeiku Santana,” the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority, of breaching Public Services Commission regulations.

Commenting on the appointment of media practitioners to various positions by the John Dramani Mahama government in a recent Joy FM interview, Okraku-Mantey criticized Abeiku Santana for continuing his media practice during public office hours.

“Why is Abeiku Santana going on air, holding a public office, and still working at Okay FM?” he questioned.

“Abeiku Santana works for the Ghana Tourism Authority, a public office, and is using office hours to work at Okay FM. It’s not acceptable. It’s not,” Okraku-Mantey added.

He further argued that, contrary to popular belief, the media in Ghana is not necessarily neutral, particularly toward the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which lost power in the 2024 general election.

“When they were bashing us, I kept telling my NPP colleagues that the media today is not as neutral as they make us believe. You see media people taking positions? Yet, when they were on air, they claimed to be neutral,” he said.

Citing the example of NPP MP for Ofoase-Ayerebi, Okraku-Mantey noted that, in contrast to current trends, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah left the media long before entering politics.

“Someone might mention Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, but Honourable Oppong Nkrumah left Joy FM years ago, stayed home, ran his private business, and only then entered politics. But today, you see people leaving media houses and immediately taking up positions,” he said.

GA