Akufo-Addo summons Ayisi Boateng

Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, George Ayisi-Boateng has been summoned by President Nana Akufo-Addo over his comments that members of the governing New Patriotic Party are his priority since they are “more Ghanaian than other Ghanaians”, ClassFMonline.com has gathered.

ClassFMonline.com's sources say the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, is meeting Mr Ayisi-Boateng first on the instructions of the president after which separate statements would be issued by the Minister and Mr Ayisi-Boateng.

Mr Ayisi-Boateng has received a lot of flak from a section of Ghanaians including the Minority I parliament, clergy, think tanks and civil society organisations with persistent demands for him to resign.

A group calling itself Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana (DYMOG) has gone ahead to petition President Nana Akufo-Addo to recall Mr Ayisi-Boateng who has justified his comments.

He told Abusua Nkommo’s Kwame Adinkra on Abusua FM in Kumasi on Tuesday, 31 October that he stood by his words since, according to him, “I said nothing bad.”

“What is wrong with my statement?” he asked, adding that he is not a divisive person as people are portraying him to be.

“I have helped many NDC members including E.T. Mensah, I am not divisive, E.T Mensah can attest to it,” he said.

Mr Ayisi-Boateng made the comment when he spoke at a ceremony to usher in fresh students of Kumasi Technical University into the Tertiary Students Confederacy Network (TESCON) of the governing New Patriotic Party on Sunday, October 29, 2017 in Kumasi.

“This government is doing its best to create job opportunities and me for instance, I told my people over there [that] it is because of NPP that I’m here so the NPP man is my priority. I told them when NDC was in power it was Kwesi Ahwoi who was there, now we are in power, so Ayisi-Boateng is here with you. My topmost priority is the problems of an NPP person before any other Ghanaian, take it or leave it,” he stated.

“Indeed I’m not boasting but I’ve started meeting the NPP groups. Every weekend I meet some group members and I tell you if I had my way, every job opportunity that will come will go to a TESCON member before any other person. And I know my colleague appointees also have the same feeling except that because of IMF we cannot do anything now…,” he added.

He cautioned government appointees to make sure they work for party members first so that “the party members will work hard for the party to retain power for over 20 years, so that they can change things in Ghana.”