Your dishonesty hurts me – Togbe Afede tells Paul Adom-Otchere

Togbe Afede XIV, a former President of the National House of Chiefs, has stated that the open to criticisms from TV host, Paul Adom-Otchere, the latter should not be dishonest in his comments about him.

According to him, he is surprised that his 'friend'

Read full articlethe broadcaster would make some comments about his attendance at the meetings of the Council of State during the period of his membership.

He noted he performed his roles dutifully as a member of the Council of State.

“My surprise indeed came from the misrepresentation. You can criticise me. You can criticise my opinions but don’t tell lies. Don’t say for instance that Togbe presented himself as coming from Ho to the Council of State and enjoyed transport allowances. When he knew it is not true. He knew that by my character, I could never do something like that.

"I am a resident of Accra. I’m not one of those who will pretend not to live in Accra and enjoy government hostel facilities when they’re working or enjoy transportation allowances. I am not that type. He knows. So that part hurts me. And also the suggestion that I was most of the time absent from Council of State meetings, that also hurts me because it is not true and he knows that is not true,” Togbe Afede XIV said to Joy News.

Togbe Afede added that, “So that level of dishonesty hurts me. That level of wickedness; that I took an exception to. You can criticise me, you can say you didn’t see why I should return the money but don’t back your arguments with falsehood. That part, I take a strong exception to”.

Paul Adom-Otchere had stated on Good Evening Ghana, that Togbe Afede attended only 16% of meetings during his tenure as a member of the Council of State.

Paul Adom-Otchere, said out of the total of 242 meetings of the Council during the period, the Paramount Chief honoured only 48 of those meetings; representing 16%.

"[Out] of the 48 months, the Council of State held 242 meetings of which Togbe Afede XIV attended 39 [meetings]; it constituted 16 percent," Paul Adom-Otchere said on his show on Tuesday.

He added, “the Council of State is paid every month and he [Togbe Afede] took all his salaries, of which he is entitled to it. In giving us the narrations, he should have stated that he was unable to attend all the meetings of the Council of State, yet he took all his salaries including his car loan, a waiver from Ghana Ports and Harbour’s Authority to import cars...the amount of monies government [took] off the loans that were paid to the Council of State members are more than the GH¢365k he is talking about, for a person who only attended 16 percent of Council of State meetings...

“If you check the Council of State transportation allowances, Togbe’s allowance was paid as of coming from Ho in the Volta region; some of the members told me that ordinarily, he lives in Accra but he said he was coming from Ho."

In a reaction, Togbe Afede said he is disappointed in the comments of Paul Adom-Otchere.

“He [Adom-Otchere] knew me very well. [So it’s] surprising that he of all people, and I don’t want to go into details; will be the one to criticise me. But why am I not surprised? Because he had done something similar before. When I was fighting Agyapa, he granted an interview to the Minister of Finance and sought to denigrate me even in that interview.

By suggesting that I was an employee of Ken-Ofori Atta. When I drew his attention, he apologised that no, no, he knew I was a founder of Data Bank. I said, so why then do you present it as if I was an employee of Ken Ofori-Atta? Again, when we were having a debate about the referendum, that had to be aborted, he again tried to criticise me” Togbe Afede explained.

“It’s a surprise that he of all people. When I say he of all people, he’ll know why I’m saying I didn’t expect that from he of all people. But unfortunately, some people live by their stomachs in the kind of things that they do. So given my recent experience, I’ll say I’m not too surprised,” he stressed.