Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa South, has rubbished claims by Koku Anyidoho, the former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), suggesting he was sacked as Director of Communications at the Presidency by John Mahama less than 48 hours after the death of President John Evans Atta-Mills.
Contrary to Anyidoho’s assertions, Dr Clement Apaak, has suggested that it was, in fact, Koku who turned down an ambassadorial position offered to him by former President Mahama, confirming claims that the new president couldn’t indeed, work with Mr Anyidoho and was subsequently replaced by John Abdulai Jinapor, the current NDC MP for Yapei-Kusawgu constituency.
Dr Apaak, further disclosed that Anyidoho was allowed to continue serving as a presidential staffer assigned to national security until January 2017. The Builsa South MP, could not mention the country Koku, who is a graduate of the Trinity Theological Seminary – Legon and lay preacher of the Global Evangelical Church, was to be sent as Ghana’s ambassador.
The rise of Mr Mahama, affected a lot of people, especially as he had to relocate the presidency from the Osu Castle to the Flagstaff House which later became the Jubilee House with many of those around President Mills left in the old slave dungeon. Some of them have since been bitter.
Dr Tony Aidoo, who was Policy Advisor to late President Mills, was shipped to Holland to be Ghana’s Ambassador there.
Bebaako Mensah, who was Secretary to President Mills was sent toVatican-Rome as Ghana’s envoy and replaced by Prof. Raymond Atuguba.
Ken Kanda, who had served as director of State Protocol under President Mills, was sent to the New York as Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the UN. He was replaced by Kwame Asamoah Tenkorang
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John Henry Martey Newman, the then Chief of Staff was replaced by Prosper Douglas Bani, and moved to the Council of State. Two years later, Mr Bani himself was replaced later by Julius Debrah, then a Local Government and Rural Development Minister and given the post of “Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary”.
Taking to Twitter, Dr Apaak responded directly to Anyidoho’s claims, stating, “… also indicate that JM offered you an ambassadorial position and you turned it down. He allowed you to continue as a presidential staffer assigned to national security. You served in this capacity till 7/1/2017 and, like the rest of us, took ex-gratia.”
Koku, had claimed that less than 48 hours after the death of former President Atta-Mills, his successor Mr Mahama, asked him to vacate the presidency, citing his inability to work with him.
Speaking in an interview with Atinka TV on June 1, 2023, Mr Anyidoho, detailed a phone call he received a day after the passing of President Mills.
According to him, someone called him to inquire about his well-being, but he didn’t trust the caller due to his discerning spirit.
“Prof died on 24 July 2012, on the 26 of July in the morning around 6 am…so let’s say less than 48 hours I got a call from one of these people, the person asks Koku how are you? then I replied I’m fine but I didn’t trust the call…because God has given me some discerning spirit so when the call came in and I saw it, I knew it wasn’t genuine.”
Mr Anyidoho added that immediately after the first caller, another called in, informing him that a decision had been made during a meeting held on July 25, 2012, to dismiss him as the Director of Communications from the presidency.
He asserted that he was told by the caller that the newly appointed president had stated that he could not work with him “for obvious reasons.”
“So, five minutes after the call another person called, and he was like yesterday we were in a meeting, which is the 25th July and a decision has been taken that I must leave the presidency and that the new president (John Mahama) says that he can’t work with you for obvious reasons, so get ready and pack out of the presidency.
“Go and look for three or four state institutions so that you will be considered either CEO or deputy CEO because as for the presidency you are out, so he was like by the end of the day people will call you and tell you, so, I don’t want you to be shocked that is why I am telling you in advance, I said thank you,” he added.
He added that a few days later he visited a prominent individual within the party, who bluntly suggested that he should look for another job because his appointment has been terminated by the new president.
“…a couple of days later I drove to the home of one of the big men, by 7 am I was there, so the moment I sat down, then he was like, Koku you have to go and look for another job, are you going to go back to the bank …so I replied him that the bank that I left for more than ten years now, how I’m I going back to the bank.
“So, he mentioned the name of the president, saying that he has said he cannot work with me so I have to leave and go and look for something else to do,…when I left that man’s house and I didn’t commit suicide, it means that it is not in my DNA to commit suicide, I was shocked because I thought I was so close to Prof so if anybody will deny me, not him and all this happened before the burial of Prof.”
