Paul Adom Otchere lobbied to testify before Emile Short Commission - Kofi Abotsi

It has been revealed that the host of Metro TV's Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom Otchere, lobbied the Ayawaso West Wuogon Commission of Inquiry to testify before it.

The former secretary of the Commission, Ernest Kofi Abotsi, made the shocking revelation, after Adom Otchere delivered a blistering attack on the defunct Commission.

The broadcaster took not more than four minutes when he appeared before the commission.

The commission explained that by describing him as an "irrelevant witness" but Adom Otchere fired back, saying the commission's explanation was "illogical."

Speaking on Newsfile Saturday, Mr Abotsi revealed that the Good Evening Ghana host used a third party to lobby the commission to be given audience.

He said: ”Before he even appeared on the Commission... the Chairman of the Commission, having assessed the circumstances of this coming, among others, actually engaged him [Paul] that in the scheme of things, he should probably not testify at all...

"I was reached out to by the same third-party intermediary in respect of this urging that at least he should be given audience because he was still trying to appear..."

He revealed also that Mr Adom Otchere met with the Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Justice Francis Emile Short, who had attempted to convince him [Paul] to shelve his intention to speak publicly – before the cameras.

But the TV host insisted on making a public appearance on the Commission tasked with unravelling the violence that marred the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.

”Before he even appeared on the Commission... the Chairman of the Commission, having assessed the circumstances of this coming, among others, actually engaged him [Paul] that in the scheme of things, he should probably not testify at all...I was reached out to by the same third-party intermediary in respect of this urging that at least he should be given audience because he was still trying to appear...” Mr Abotsi revealed on Newsfile, Saturday.

Mr Abotsi stressed that the Commission had “zero interest in anybody who appears but in the scheme of things, everyone would have to be processed along rational principles.”

“Mr Paul Adom Otchere fell within the category of persons who reached out to the Commission. In other words, Mr Paul Adom Otchere reached out to the Commission through somebody, which I don’t have to disclose, and this is public record. The good thing is that there are text messages to this effect.

“Therefore if you reach out to the Commission, as an inquisitorial body, the Commission is interested in every evidence that will help it in its fact-finding mission within the time constraints. So he was allowed to come,” Kofi Abotsi said.