Tension in Flagstaff House over Stan Dogbe

Credible information available to Today newspaper points to a seeming tension in the seat of government, Flagstaff House, over calls on President John Dramani Mahama to sanction his communication head, Stan Dogbe.

The cause of the tension, Today understands, is because of the president’s decision to retain one of his most trusted aides against wise counsel to dispense with Stan Dogbe’s services.

Stan Dogbe, according to a plausible source at the presidency, has not only become a bother to the media but also a thorn in the flesh of most presidential staffers and government officials.

Whiles those believed to be owing allegiance to the late Professor John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, the source said, want the embattled communication director at the presidency to be relieved of his duties, others also purported to be allies of President Dramani Mahama oppose the idea.

Consequently, the development, the source told this reporter, has in, one way or the other, affected the administrative work at the presidency.

According to a deep throat source close to the first family, though President Dramani Mahama was deeply perturbed about the situation, he was also afraid to step on the toes of his loyalists who apparently happen to be on the same bloc with the under-fired communication head.

Aside from that, the source revealed that Stan-Dogbe like Koku Anyidoho who was a bosom pal of the late Professor Mills and knew everything about the late President, also happens to know most of the secrets of President Dramani Mahama, making it extremely difficult for the president to get rid of him.

“We at the presidency are not happy about the conduct of Stan Dogbe, but there is very little anyone can do since President Mahama cannot even touch him,” the source averred.

The source added: “In fact any attempt by President Dramani Mahama to touch him [Stan Dogbe] will spell doom for him [President Mahama] and his second term bid,” the source warned.

It would be recalled that Stan Dogbe was among those who accompanied the then Vice-President Mahama to the United States of America (USA) to launch his book, ‘My First Coup D’état,’ which was chaired by world acclaimed gay lobbyist, Andrew Solomon.

But those backing the calls by the media and other individuals to have Stan Dobge’s appointment terminated with immediate effect, the source said, believe any failure on the part of the president to do so will have serious repercussions on the fortunes of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2016 polls.

“Since the inception of Fourth Republic, the NDC has been tagged as media unfriendly and now that we are trying to redeem our image we have the likes of Stan Dogbe, who should know better considering his background, muddying the waters for us.

…Indeed we can’t underestimate the power of the pen and if we don’t deal with this issue carefully and the media turns the heat on us that will end our dream of retaining power in 2016,” the source said.

Our source could not understand why there are equally good materials at the presidency like the one-time former communication director of the then opposition leader, the late Professor Mills, Seth Ofori Hene, who could do the job better, yet he has been relegated to the background.

Meanwhile, some media institutions which work at the Flagstaff House, Today has gathered, are planning to withdraw their services in solidarity with their colleague Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) journalist who was brutalised and had his gadget destroyed by Stan Dogbe barely two months ago.

The GBC reporter had gone to the 37 Military Hospital to visit some of his injured colleagues who were part of the Presidential Press Corps accident victims at Shai Hills in the Greater Accra region, which resulted in the death of Ghanaian Times reporter, Samuel Nuamah.

Last week about one hundred and fifty-five (155) Ghanaian journalists from both print and electronic media signed a petition which was presented to President Dramani Mahama by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) demanding the dismissal of Stan Dogbe.

Earlier, some media gurus like the Director of School of Communication at the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, condemned the behaviour of Stan Dogbe and consequently called on the president to sack him so as to ensure sanity and dignity at the presidency.