Former President of the National House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede XIV, has indicated that while he is open to criticism from TV personality Paul Adom-Otchere, he should not be dishonest in his remarks about him.
According to him, he is startled that his 'friend,' the broadcaster, would make comments regarding his participation at Council of State sessions during his membership time.
He stated that as a member of the Council of State, he carried out his duties diligently. "The distortion was the source of my amazement. You are free to criticize me. You are free to disagree with my viewpoints, but you must not lie. Don't state, for example, that Togbe pretended to be from Ho when he presented himself to the Council of State and received transportation benefits. When he realized it wasn't true. He knew I'd never do something like that based on my personality.
"I am a Ghanaian who lives in Accra. When I'm working or receiving transportation allowances, I'm not one of those who will claim not to reside in Accra and use government hostel facilities. That is not my personality. He is aware of the situation. As a result, that section bothers me. Also, the notion that I was missing from Council of State meetings for the most of the period bothers me.
because it is untrue, and he is aware that it is untrue," To Joy News, Togbe Afede XIV remarked.
"So that amount of dishonesty affects me," Togbe Afede remarked. That degree of depravity was something I couldn't stand. You are free to criticize me and claim that you don't understand why I should return the money, but don't back up your claims with lies. That aspect is something I really disagree with."
According to Paul Adom-Otchere of Good Evening Ghana, Togbe Afede only attended 16 percent of sessions during his time on the Council of State.
According to Paul Adom-Otchere, the Paramount Chief honored just 48 of the Council's 242 sessions over that time span, accounting for 16 percent of the total.
"The Council of State had 242 sessions throughout the 48 months, and Togbe Afede XIV attended 39 [meetings], accounting for 16 percent," Paul Adom-Otchere remarked on his show on Tuesday.
"The Council of State gets paid every month," he said, "and he [Togbe Afede] stole all of his wages to which he is entitled." He should have stated in his narrations that he was unable to attend all Council of State meetings, yet he took all of his salaries, including his car loan and a waiver from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to import cars...the amount of money government [took] off the loans paid to Council of State members is more than the GH365k he is paid.
For someone who has only attended 16 percent of the Council of State sessions...
"If you look at the Council of State transportation allowances, Togbe's payment was given as of arriving from Ho in the Volta region; some of the members informed me he resides in Accra normally, but he stated he was coming from Ho."
Togbe Afede reacted by saying he was disappointed by Paul Adom-remarks. Otchere's
"He [Adom-Otchere] was quite familiar with me. So it's odd that he, of all people, will be the one to criticize me, and I won't get into specifics. But what makes me think I'm not surprised? Because he had already done something similar. I was fighting Agyapa at the time.