Okoe Vanderpuije on his way out?

Having allayed fears of his fans and supporters that he was not going to bow to pressure to resign as Mayor of Accra, intelligence gathered by The aL-hAJJ points to the contrary, and that, President John Dramani Mahama will in the coming days reassign Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije.

Although reason(s) for the Accra Metropolitan Assembly boss’ impending reshuffle are still sketchy, sources at the seat of government hinted this paper, “the president is still doing all the needed consultations and in the coming days Okoe Vanderpuije’s fate will be determined.”

Short of mentioning Dr Vanderpuije’s next portfolio in the Mahama government, an ally of the president reveal to this paper though, on condition of anonymity, “What I can tell you is that even as the President is so far impressed with his work as Mayor and is not blaming him for the recent mishap, he already have it in mind to shift him…, perhaps, to a challenging role as he (the President) seeks to wrap up his first term in office."

The AMA boss, who was recently crowned Africa’s best mayor, came under intense censure following last Wednesday, June 3, 2015 Accra flood and fire twin disasters that caused over 150 people to perish and several properties running into millions of Ghana cedis destroyed.

His critics, mainly supporters and members of some opposition parties, and politically drenched civil society groups have called for his resignation. Others have also called on the President to fire him if he fails to resign.

The Accra Mayor’s accusers claim his incompetence led to the calamity that befell the nation. But many also disagree, and will rather blame the disaster on our "collective failure".

In a direct riposte to his critics, Dr. Okoe Vanderpuije was quoted in the media to have said, ‘I want to assure Ghanaians and all my numerous fans that they should not fear. I am not resigning.’

“Nobody can blame me! My good works are there for all to see. Only recently, the whole of Africa recognized this and gave me an award. No downpour, no deluge, no Noah’s flood, I repeat, no rainwater can wash away my achievements and my glory,” he asserted.

He then outlined his next line of action “as for those who want me to resign, they can forget it! My fans should not worry at all. In fact, just after this interview, I’m going to erect billboards all over town with the words, “I’m here to stay, Babe!”

As if to further repose his confidence in the Accra Mayor and shrugging off calls to fire him, President Mahama at a memorial service for the June 3 victims at the forecourt of the State House last week cautioned Ghanaians to desist from the blame-game.

Rather, he said, we should collectively seek ways to prevent future occurrence since the finger-pointing did not hold anything good for the nation. “There is plenty of blame to go around,” he said the disaster has stripped the nation down to the “truth of who and what we are” and forced the country to face the “essentials of reality”.

However, close associates of the President have hinted The aL-hAJJ that President Mahama is likely to reassign the mayor, “even if after the consultations it turns out that the Mayor should not be reassigned, we can tell you confidently that the President will not sack him, he may be elevated from his current position.”