Vice President of Thinktank IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil has said President Akufo-Addo appointing “only 50’ relatives and friends out of a total of 4000 appointees cannot be called nepotism by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to Bentil, who has since been roasted by social media users, Akufo-Addo appointing 50 family and friends into government is only about 1 percent of the entire appointments the president has made so far and hence sees no reason why nepotism should come in.
The Vice President of the think tank was speaking on the current affairs program NewsFile.
He was reacting to a statement put forth by the opposition National Democratic Congress that relatives and ‘entire nuclear family’ of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo are serving in his administration.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi listed 51 names he said pointed to “classic and unprecedented” nepotism within the Akufo-Addo government. According to Sammy Gyamfi, Nana Akufo-Addo vowed to eschew nepotism and cronyism in his government but has done otherwise.
“I will not operate a family and friends’ government,” he quoted the then NPP Presidential candidate. The NDC listed 51 direct relatives of the president they claim are serving in government including one of the “ex-lover of Akufo-Addo”; Ghana’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Madam Virginia Hesse.
Akufo-Addo not nepotistic
Speaking on NewsFile, Kofi Bentil warned that no one can say that president Akufo-Addo is nepotistic.
“No objective check, test or analysis will show that this government is nepotistic. None!” he said on Newsfile Saturday.
“If you take even 4000 as the appointees and there is the 50, that’s like 1 percent or something like that. No objective test will show that Akufo-Addo is nepotistic. Absolutely none!”
Kofi Bentil has since come under fire for what social media users say is his “hypocrisy” as he was one of the people who accused former President John Mahama of nepotism over ordinary regional appointments from the three Northern Regions.