On missing vehicles in the UE regional health directorate and matters arising

BONABOTO PRESS CONFERENCE ON MISSING VEHICLES IN THE UPPER EAST REGIONAL HEALTH DIRECTORATE AND MATTERS ARISING, HELD IN BOLGATANGA, UPPER EAST REGION , IN FEBRUARY 12, 2017,

Friends of the media Ladies and Gentlemen, We have called you here today to give you an official position on the five missing vehicles and matter arising.

We all read with shock and uttermost dismay a Starrfmonline publication on the 29/01/17 attributed to one Edward Adetiloye on the issue of the five Ghana Health Service “missing” vehicles which we (BONANBOTO) called for its return.

In the said so called evidence backed investigative piece, the author whom we understand is a partly educated Nigerian immigrant raised very serious allegations and sought to create several impressions relative to the issue.

He alleged that:

• one of the missing vehicles was found at the residence of the regional Director-“Missing Vehicles: UER health boss begs; car found at residence”, “That car belongs to a set of the same project vehicles he had declared missing in August, 2015”

• The Regional Director had given one of the supposed “missing vehicles” to his wife as contained in this quote “….Starr news investigations also have dug out an official project vehicle he is said to have unduly taken from the directorate for his wife”

• Even though Dr. Kofi Issah was asked to head Brong Ahafo Region, BONABOTO ensured the exit of Dr. Awoonor from the region at all cost for Dr. Issah. He added that BONABOTO was and is still supporting Dr. Issah to denigrate the hard won reputation of Dr. Awoonor and are working to limit his chances of becoming Director General of Ghana Health Serrvice.-“Dr. Issah was directed to return to Brong Ahafo Region, where he was a deputy Director until his appointment as regional director and to temporarily assume office there as regional boss….” “……But Dr. Issah a native of the Upper East Region and backed by some of his kinsmen in the region, looked decided on taking the reins of the regional administration in his region of birth. He courted the sympathy and support of some members of BONABOTO-a voluntary association of natives of the Frafra zone in the region…”

• BONABOTO as a group was divided over the issue of the missing vehicles.

As a credible group, we immediately sought to establish the truth or otherwise of these primary allegation as raised in the feature.

Our investigation revealed that the first allegation of one of the missing vehicles found in the house of the Regional Director was completely untrue. We established that the said car GN 3439-12 was never among the five vehicles which still remain administratively unaccounted for. The vehicles are GV 3520-09 Toyota Land cruiser, GE 9632-09 VW Passat saloon car (Official Vehicles of the regional director), GV 9291-10 Mitsubisi Pajaro, and GM 9929-13 Toyota Hilux (GIHIP Project Vehicles) and GV 2914 -14 Toyota Hilux (MOTECH project vehice).

We further established that the said vehicle GN 3439-12 is been used by Dr. Kofi Issah as his official vehicle ever since he assumed office as regional director. Interestingly, it is worth noting that aside contradicting himself by not listing the said vehicle among the missing vehicles in the feature, the said evidenced backed investigator-Edward Adetiloye in the discussions that ensued after the publication, he admitted on public radio that the said vehicle was never part of the “missing” vehicles.

Again, our investigation established that the said vehicle was not allocated to the spouse of the Dr. Issah as was alleged by the reporter. Infact when he was asked by radio presenters as to whether he had any evidence on the said allocation, he said no he had never even seen the lady drive the vehicle before, but attributed his claim to his sources.

Additionally when he was asked to substantiate his third allegation, he again alleged that one Johnson Ayine had said on radio that Dr. Kofi Issah came and met several CSO leaders at the Catholic Social Center to plead for support to oust Dr. Awoonor. Again Johnson Ayine has denied this fabrication. It must be noted that BONABOTO never played any role in the appointment of Dr. Kofi Issah or in the transfer of Dr. Awoonor Williams as being erroneously created by this ill minded reporter.

Also, in an effort to find the basis or otherwise for his last allegation, we came across a tape in which the said Edward Adetiloye mentioned the name of our revered father and statesman Mr. Robert Ajene and Mr. P C Azetariga as members of BONABOTO who held dissenting opinions on the vehicles issue and warned Dr. Issah to be careful with some other BONABOTO members including our PRO who probably were misleading him.

After disrespectfully refusing to honor an invitation by Mr. Robert Ajene to explain why he mentioned his name in the tape as a dissenting opinion holder on the matter when he (Edward Adetiloye) had never spoken to him on the issue, Mr. Robert Ajene in the company of Mr. P C Azetariga went to “his office” and was later joined by Mr. Francis Atintono our Chairman.

After beating about the bush and saying that the story (his publication under the heading “Missing Vehicles: UER health boss begs; car found at residence”) was about a car parked at the residence of the regional director, the said Edward Adetiloya then admitted that he had never spoken to Mr. Robert Ajene and Mr. P C Azetariga on the issue and attributed mentioning their name in the private conversation in the tape to yet again another source who told him.

His incoherent and dishonest submission drew in verbal exchanges between him and our Chairman in the presence of these prominent persons who found it logically incomprehensible to reconcile his shifting position on the issue.

The said Edward Adetiloye having consciously admitted not having any concrete evidence to back his allegations leaves us with no other option than to believe that he has an agenda to cause public disaffection against us as a group and a people. This we will resist seriously.

CLAIM OF PHYSICAL ASSAULT

After falsely citing these noble men in a tape and subsequently basing his claim of division in BONABOTO to them, the said Edward Adetiloye now mischievously and maliciously fabricated another story of assault “BONABOTO Chairman Assaults Starrfm reporter” in which he claimed he was physically assaulted by Mr. Francis Atintono in the presence of yet again these two men and went on to shamelessly and unethically slander the image of Mr .Francis Atintono and Mr. Stanley Abopaam. We find it difficult to believe that the said Edward Adetiloye who claimed he was physically assaulted and promised police arrest in a whatsup massage to our PRO and on Ura Radio did not report same to the Police.

We are wondering why the said reporter resorted to pure lies and fabrication to create the impression that BONABOTO as a group was against Dr. Awoonor when he is clearly uneducated about the good working relationship that existed between BONABOTO and Dr. Awoonor throughout his working life in this region.

We take critical exception to the behavior and conduct of this man towards us as a group and a people and wish to state here and clear that we shall not and will not allow such irresponsible, subversive, unethical and ill-minded elements to drag our name into disrepute. We shall as typical of us, use every legitimate means to stop such social miscreants from our media space. We demand that the said Edward Adetiloye should apologize, retract the fabrication and give it same coverage in the interest of social harmony or we will within the legal confines of the law appropriately advise ourselves.

We also wish to inform the EIB media group operators of the Starrfmonline that the continuous usage of their platform by this said Nigerian immigrant will not go uncontested in the future.

We again wish to inform the security personnel in the region to take careful notice of the behavior of this said reporter who in our estimation significantly constitutes a security threat to the peace and stability of the region by his alarmist fabrications.

We finally wish to reiterate our call on the BNI, CHRAJ and the Minister of Health to bring finality to this matter by making public their finding on this issue.

Regional Chairman of BONABOTO, Mr Francis Atotono

Regional Public Relations Officer of BONABOTO, Mr Stanly Abopam

0208520770