The Turf war between Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection and her deputy, Ms Rachael Florence Appoh, is far from over as the chiefs in the deputy ministers constituency are wading into the fracas.
The Paramount Chief of Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area in the Central Region, where the deputy minister comes from, Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI, is calling on President John Dramani Mahama to, as a matter of urgency, call Nana Oye to order.
The angry Omanhene of the Gomoa Ajumako further requested the President to summon Ms. Appoh and the other deputy to know at firsthand what was going on at the ministry and not to underestimate the people of Gomoa.
Obrempong Krampah’s comments come on the heels of similar sentiments by Bishop Prince Bonnie Wood, spokesperson for the concerned Clergy Association of Ghana, who advised President Mahama to stamp his authority in the face of obvious friction at the ministry headed by his lawyer’s wife, Nana Oye Lithur.
The chiefs and people of Gomoa, where Rachel Appoh is MP, were not happy that Nana Oye threatened to arrest their daughter for simply executing her official assignment.
The minister is reportedly not on talking terms with her two deputies, Rachel Appoh and Benita Okitty Duah, who is said to be out of the country on a private visit.
Rachel has no office but rather perches at a corner at the Social Welfare Department with little or no schedule even though she is supposed to be in charge of Social Welfare.
Nana Oye, according to reports, had threatened to cause the arrest of Rachael Florence Appoh and the Director of Social Welfare, Christian Babooroh, following the release of an 18-month-old baby girl to some good Samaritans, who had saved the poor child from the hands of her depressed mother.
Nana Oye, who was in the United State at the time of the incident, allegedly threatened to jail her deputy and the Social Welfare Director for purportedly breaching rules governing fosterage, if they did not produce the baby upon her return.
She has, however, denied the report that she wanted to arrest and jail her deputy.
However, briefing journalists at his Okwaada Palace at Gomoa Ajumako yesterday, Obrempong Krampah indicated the extreme displeasure of ‘Nananom’ over the issue, stressing that the matter could spell ‘political doom’ for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
“The party risks losing the popular votes in the entire Gomoa and should not forget the population of about 350,000 and must therefore be mindful of how much this will negatively impact on the party’s fortunes, if speedy redress and finally is not brought to the matter.”
Obrampong Krampah said, “We are not happy about the condition Nana Oye, who did not add any significant vote to our victory, is putting our Member of Parliament (MP) in; she is rather dwindling the support base of our great party in Gomoa, it this matter is not addressed as expected.”
The chief said that the area was particularly worried about the threat of arrest directed at their MP.
He wondered: “What has suddenly changed that a lawyer of her standing will arrogant onto herself a judicial and prosecutorial power and give an ultimatum to her deputy who double as an MP of a large constituency.
Obrempong Krampah noted that Ms. Appoh “does not even have a common office but rather uses the other deputy’s office secretariat as her office.”
Rachel’s Diplomacy
Earlier, Ms. Appoh, when contacted by phone for comments, said in a very diplomatic way that the threat of arrest was not directed at her but Mr.Babooroh, the director of Social Welfare.
She said, “Last night, the social welfare director called me that the Minister (Oye Lithur) is saying that she will arrest him if he does not bring the child. Seriously I panicked, I could not even talk; I was even short of words,”
The deputy minister, who is in charge of Social Welfare, further stated: “It’s not me as a deputy minister but the director of social welfare; I authorized the social welfare director to rescue this baby. To be fair with you, I have not spoken with my minister,. It was the director not me. She call the director last night that she will arrest him if he does not bring the child today so the director called me.”
Strangely, Nana Oye Lithur did not seek any briefing from her deputy who acted in her absence. The minister rather chose to communicate with the Social Welfare Director during which the threat to cause his arrest was conveyed to him (the director).
The chiefs noted that it was not good enough for the minister to be at loggerheads with the deputy.
Daily Guide inquiries at the Woman and Gender Ministry painted Nana Oye style of leadership as being the abrasive type with no show of respect towards her subordinates.
Source: GhanaWeb
