BNI cleared BOST MD to save Nana Addo from being exposed - Mardi Jibril

A Deputy National Organizer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mardi Jibril, has lambasted President Nana Akufo-Addo of using the National Investigations (BNI) and National Security to cover-up the

controversial sale of five million litres of off-spec fuel involving the Managing Director of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport Company (BOST), Alfred Obeng of any wrongdoing.

According to him, the president and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are being threatened by Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, that he will spill the bean on how the party won the 2016 polls, should they force the MD to resign.

The firebrand politician consistently defended the MD insisting that he [Alfred Obeng] was innocent of the allegations.

He said the NPP members have brought 800 companies seeking to do business with BOST. According to him, some NPP bigwigs want the MD of BOST sacked, simply because he’s refused to satisfy their demands.

The BOST MD Alfred Obeng has come under heavy pressure following the sale of contaminated fuel to Movenpiina Energy.

Ghana allegedly lost about GH¢7 million in revenue following attempts by BOST to sell contaminated fuel to some oil marketing companies. Documents showed that BOST agreed to sell about GH¢5 million litres of the contaminated fuel to Movenpinna Energy. But the BNI and the National Security in a report cleared the MD of any wrongdoing.

Portions of the BNI report said: ''The product contamination occurred on January 18, 2017, and the MD for BOST assumed office on January 23, 2017, and cannot be held responsible for it.

As a competent MD, he interdicted the officers involved and set up a six-member committee chaired by the Head of Internal Audit Department, Mr. Edmund Aquah on February 8, 2017, to find out the causes of the contamination. A laboratory test from TOR and a technical recommendation made by the General Manager, Terminal, Fred Ayarkwa indicated that out of the options available, selling the product for industrial purposes such as asphalt processing, texture and cement manufacturing was the best.

This option was recommended to the MD because TOR is not refining currently and the laboratory result clearly stated that treating it would not give the required quality of AGO (Diesel).

Among the fifteen companies that expressed interest, Movenpiina price was the highest. Its initial price was GHS 0.90 per liter as the highest followed by Nation Links Oil which quoted GHS 0.80 per liter. Despite these quotations, BOST pushed Movenpiina to pay GHS1.30 per liter which is the highest BOST has ever sold contamination products. The highest that was sold under the previous administration headed by Kwame Awuah Darko was GHS 1.00 per liter.''

However, Mardi Jibril says, the clearance confirms Kennedy Agyapong’s claims that, the MD was appointed to recoup his financial support to President Akufo-Addo during the 2016 campaign season.

He said, the party and government fear Kennedy Agyapong will expose how they rigged the elections and so, they used the BNI and National Security to clear the BOST MD. ‘’Kennedy Agyapong threatened to expose how the NPP rigged the polls and because of that, the BNI has been used to clear the MD.

The Energy Minister instituted an 8-member committee to investigate the matter and so why did the BNI failed to allow that committee complete its work? I am also aware that the Minister did not inform the president before setting up the committee.

The Energy Minister is also eyeing the presidency and so he wanted to use the committee to investigate the rot but because of the irreparable damage that will come after the investigations, the BNI was asked to cover it up with their shoddy work,’’ he alleged.

Mardi Jibril stressed, Kennedy Agyapong has been on a war path with his party because he [Agyapong] felt his own party members were scheming to betray their own people.

‘’This is the second he is threatening them. He first threatened the party after the Delta Force members were arrested for invading a court. The MP warned his party not to jail the Delta Force guys because of the dirty job they did for them. At the end of the day, it was a foolish case.

He again threatened to deal with the party should they oust the BOST MD, and they have also fallen for the threat by clearing him.’’ Ghanaians he said are watching how the president is failing in his corruption fight. In his view, the president does not have the moral right to fight corruption.

‘’The president believes in corruption and that is why the MD was cleared. Nana Addo is corrupt and using the BNI to deprive Ghanaians of the truth in the contaminated fuel saga. Nana Addo is championing corruption.

He has failed himself and his assurance to fight corruption was a failed promise.’’