79-year-old Osafo-Maafo returns to Jubilee House

The same old Yaw Osafo-Maafo, who served as Senior Minister during the first term of President Akufo-Addo’s administration, but resigned at the beginning of the second term, has returned to government, this time as a Senior Presidential Advisor, The New Publisher has gathered.

The announcement that the resigned Senior Minister has returned as Senior Presidential Advisor was proudly made known to the public by he himself on Tuesday April 13, when he addressed the Birim Central Municipal Assembly at Akyem Oda in the Eastern Region.

He said the new appointment took effect from the first week in April.

Reports of Osafo-Maafo’s return to government has generated a backlash and renewed calls on the need to retire the old limbs.

The old man has served Ghana in several positions being the Member of Parliament for Akyem Oda Constituency from 1997 to 2009 a period of 12 years, serving as  Minister for Finance and Economic Planning from 2001 to and Minister of Education and Sports from 2005 to 2006.

When Osafo-Maafo served under President Kufuor, there were the controversial CNTCI Loan Saga which had its address traced to a hair dressing saloon, and then the McMillan Saga which had too many unanswered questions.

Both fueled the perceptions of corruption, a negative tag that became hard for the then government to fight against.

That tag was eventually used by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to campaign hard against the NPP until the party was kicked out of government.

Osafo-Marfo had his name and person involved in way too many controversial contracts and though his party stood firmly behind him, it did not reduce the perception of corruption.

Again serving under Nana Addo, he would be remembered for the Kroll Contract saga, that though no court pronounced him guilty, public perception has not changed much.

Hell broke loose over Osafo-Marfo’s opinions on galamsey queen Aisha Huang.

But just as his style under President Kufuor, he was not the one who suffered the most. Others have suffered the consequences because as a person, his own face has never been on the ballot paper.

Yes, ne nursed such ambitions and made an attempt at becoming the NPP flag-bearer but that was what it was, just an attempt. He failed.