Never employ any NPP executive …NIA Boss says Akufo-Addo has ordered him

Prof Ken Attafuah, Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), says he has received clear instructions from President Akufo-Addo that he should never employ any executive of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to work at the Authority.

The Professor explained that Nana Akufo-Addo told him he does not want to leave a legacy of being the President who packed his party people into the public sector.

“The President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, he has charged me that I should make sure no party executive are hired in the process. He does not want to leave a legacy of employing his party members and packing them into a particular sector. No!”, Professor Attafuah noted during a radio interview with Angel FM.

The NIA Boss continued: No. He [Nana Akufo-Addo] wants us to build a neutral public service. Neutrality is one of the principles of the Public Service. We need political neutrality so we are doing what the law says we should do and the President supports it.”

Prof. Attafuah spoke in both English and Twi and was very clear and emphatic that he  received categorical instructions from Nana Akufo-Addo.

Kennedy Agyapong Angry

Prof. Attafuah’s comments have ignited vexation among several NPP faithful who have not hidden their reservations about his claims.

Many of the grumbling party members took to social media platforms or called into live radio discussions to vent their spleen.

Notable among them is the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong who has accused the Professor and Boss of the NIA of double standards and contradictions.

Kennedy Agyapong argued that Attafuah is himself a perfect example of someone who is not politically neutral yet finds himself in the Public Service and therefore lacks the moral authority to go public preaching on the virtues of political neutrality and its positive merits in the public sector.

“I have common sense to ask simple questions to make him [Prof Attafuah] look so ridiculous. The first question I ask him is if his position is one of political neutrality? In the era of President Kufuor, when National Identification was started, this man was in charge of it. When the NDC came, he was kicked out.

“When the NPP came back to power, he [Prof Attafuah] was brought back to head the NIA so where is his own political neutrality he is talking about?” Kennedy Agyapong asked in an interview on Asempa FM Tuesday afternoon.

The Assin Central MP continued: “I have a very big problem with what the man[Attafuah] is saying. Even if that was what the President told him in private, do you think the Professor should come publicly to say this is what the President had charged him to do?

“This is a serious matter and the party youth is charged. I am on a platform known as Critical Thinkers and it is a dangerous statement for the man to have said Nana Akufo-Addo had said he should not employ NPP people”, Kennedy Agyapong added.

Demo Looms

The Member of Parliament for Assin Central said the utterances from Professor Attafuah have the potential of destroying the party’s chances at the 2024 polls and therefore he should be axed from his top job at the NIA.

“Professor Attufuah should look for people with political neutrality to go and do the 2024 campaign. I would incite every NPP member who has not been employed against this man and there would be demonstrations all over the country. We are giving Nana Akufo-Addo some time to sack this man or we start our demonstrations”, Kennedy noted.

He continued: “During the campaign, there were people who sat on vehicles and got injured, someone’s eye was plucked out so today Professor Attufuah is making us know that if such persons had died, they would have died for nothing.

“The man has no bases for his statement. The National Youth Organizer, has a brother who is an IT Specialist who understands national identification and he was the one who should have had that appointment but by the time I travelled to India and back, the job had been given to Attafuah, a lawyer. It was not given to the IT Specialist but you a lawyer had that position. Why did you not go seek for the job of Attorney-General?

“I just checked from Parliament and he has no political neutrality. He is bragging all over. Ask him if he did not show interest in becoming Speaker of Parliament and he did not fail at it?

“We are not kids. He is destroying the NPP party for us. May God bless him. What is wrong with employing qualified NPP members? Are they not human beings? “Kennedy Agyapong added.

…MORE SOON…