General News of Friday, 22 June 2007
Source: The Chronicle
…While Anane, Akomea Set To Return
Mr. Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey, Minister for Tourism and Diaporan Relations and Hon. Papa Owusu Ankomah, Minister of Education, have tendered in their resignations in line with last Tuesday’s directive by President Kufuor to his Ministers aspiring for the presidential candidate of the party to wrap up and quit to pusuetheir campaign activities.
In an interview with the paper yesterday, the Tourism Minister said he was currently bidding farewell to departments and agencies that were under his sector.
“Oh Honourable, that means you have already resigned?” we enquired, and he laughed and responded, “well, you can work it out yourselves. I believe you have the mechanism to do your checks to find that out.”
Sources close to Mr. Obetsebi-Lamptey said he had tendered in his resignation as far back as last Tuesday and was only waiting to hear the response of the President. The Minister is said to be preparing to embark upon an intensive campaign tour for the presidential candidature of the party. His first point of call is expected to be the northern sector of the country.
For his part, the Education Minister neither confirmed nor denied the information obtained from sources close to him that he had tendered in his resignation when he was contacted at about 7:30pm when a cabinet meeting had ended.
He asked where the paper got the information from and when he was told that we were informed by sources close to him, he responded jokingly, “oh but I just attended cabinet meeting.” His line went off and we could not establish contact with him again to ask him further questions.
Defence Minister, Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor and Communications Minister, Prof. Mike Oquaye, had also put in their resignation letters on Wednesday. The Communications Minister returned home Wednesday evening without his police bodyguard and his official driver. He is said to have asked them to withdraw immediately after tendering in his resignation. Foreign Minister, Hon. Nana Akufo Addo; Hon. Hackman Owusu Agyeman, Water Resources, Works and Housing Minister; Mr. Alan Kyeremanten, Minister for Trade, Industry and PSI and Mr. Felix Owusu Agyepong, Parliamentary Affairs Minister are the other four Minister-aspirants who are also expected to quit in line with the President’s directive.
Sources close to these Ministers say they have all not tendered in their resignations yet as they are bent on persuading the president to back down on his decision.
They were therefore said to have sighed with deep relief when the President relaxed his directive yesterday, announcing at Cabinet that the Minister-aspirants could resign immediately but added that he would however allow those who would want to be given more time to wrap up, to stay on till July ending.