Ghana@50: JJ's invitation creates confusion

Chronicle - A MEMBER of the Council of State, Nana Essunaba Dapaah, has chastised the leader of the government’s delegation, Prof. Adzei Bekoe of handpicking members of the Council to have a tête-à-tête with the former President, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings.

According to him, the leader of the delegation, who doubles as the chairman of the Council of State has stabbed them in the back, by keeping them in the dark about the event.

Casting doubt about the authenticity of who mandated the chairman, he told this paper yesterday that though he was not against the decision to meet with the former President to harmonise the existing relationships as the nation moves towards the celebration of Ghana @50, it was unfortunate that the leader kept them in limbo.

Giving indication that the other members of the Council would query the delegation about the motive behind handpicking a few members and keeping the rest in the dark, he said, he and others were not aware of the organizing of the meeting.

“I am not aware of what is going on. I don’t know who delegated them and I was not even called to the meetings. The delegates were handpicked,” he said.

Pushed to express further his views, Nana Dapaah, who recently released a blistering attack on the former President, said, “I cannot give any view on the matter unless the whole Council meets before we would know what happened and we would ask them why.”

The Council member admitted that the step taken to reconcile the former president and brief him about the upcoming Ghana at 50 anniversary was in the right direction.

“It was not wrong to meet with the former President as we celebrate the nation’s anniversary, except that I don’t know who organized the meeting. I was not called and I was not aware of anything; but we shall ask them when they brief us at the meeting next week.”

The Chairman of the Council of State and leader of the delegation, Prof. Daniel Adzei Bekoe, in a chat with the CHRONICLE, admitted that not all members of the council were informed. He hoped to brief the rest at their next meeting.

Out of 19 Members of the Council of State, only four were in the Government delegation, which included religious and traditional leaders. Those on the delegation were His Eminence Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, Catholic Archbishop of Cape Coast, Sheikh Nuhu Sharabutu, Chief Imam, the Rev. Dr. Paul Fynn, Moderator of the Lutheran Church, Prof. Miranda Greenstreet, Madam Ama Busia, Mrs. Cecilia Bannerman, Mrs. Emma Mitchel and Nana Odeneho Gyapong Ababio, President of the National House of Chiefs.

The meeting which was held behind closed doors for almost four hours at the house of Mr. Rawlings at Ridge, was to brief him about the activities of the upcoming anniversary and officially invite him to be part of the programme.

Briefing the press after the deliberations, Prof. Bekoe, noted that their mission in short was to update the Former President about the anniversary.

According to him, the meeting was open and frank and that a lot of issues were discussed but refused to disclose it to the media.

He refused to be quizzed by most journalists present about the content of the meeting and his impressions about the meeting.

Hon. Bagbin, the Minority Leader in Parliament told the press that they have received the delegation from the President and that the discussions were frank and candid, adding that all members present expressed their views, which were in the interest of the nation.

According to him, the concerns raised by all of them were to build the nation. He said on the part of the former President, they have given them their side of the story and it was expected that probably the government’s delegation will get back to them.

Asked whether Mr. Rawlings has accepted the invitation to be part of the celebrations, Mr. Bagbin declined to answer.

All members of the camp of the former President were not allowed to speak at length with the press.