A former presidential staffer, Stan Dogbe, ha dismissed claims that former President John Dramani Mahama's office is in talks with the government with respect to office accommodation.
The issue of Mahama's emoluments being denied him by the current government has become topical after he told Accra-based TV3 that he was only receiving his monthly pension as a former president.
The New Patriotic Party, NPP, called a press conference this week dismissing some of Mahama's claims specifically with respect to his office accommodation.
The NPP's Communications Director, Richard Ahiagbah, said available documents showed that Mahama's accommodation was being catered for.
Stan Dogbe, however, dismissed that claim in a Facebook post in which he referred to Ahiagbah's claims as 'lies.'
"Why must there even be a negotiation or engagement? Mr. Mahama, as a former President of Ghana, is supposed to be given an office that will also be maintained.
"He’s been out of office for 6 years. There’s been no action from government on that, and Mr. Mahama has been operating from his rented office without any issue.
"Please ignore the latest in a series of lies by that Ahiagbah character. John Mahama’s office has not entered into any negotiations with government over his office," Dogbe stressed.
Ahiagbah beats retreat
In an interview on Accra-based Citi FM, Ahiagbah admitted that the state was not taking care of the bills of an office Mr. Mahama currently uses at East Cantonments.
At a press conference a day before, September 15, Ahiagbah dismissed Mahama's claims that he was not enjoying the full end-of-service benefits due him as a former Head of State as contained in Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution.
“The government of Ghana is working to give him an office. There is a conversation to get him an office.
"If the office has not been given to him, the letter I have here has not confirmed it but what it tells me is that there is a conversation to give him an office and his office is aware,” the NPP Communications Director said.
Ahiagbah had on Thursday morning been challenged on Metro TV's Good Morning Ghana programme by show host, Randy Abbey, and co-panelist, Sammy Gyamfi, to provide documents to support his claim that government was paying for Mahama's private office.
What Mahama told TV3 in an exclusive interview:
“I receive only my monthly pension like [former] President Kufuor, and [late former] President Rawlings was receiving [it] before he died. That is all I get.
“I pay the electricity bill for my house and my office, I pay the water bill for my house and my office. I live in my own accommodation so the State does not pay me anything for accommodation.
“They haven’t given me an office, I rent an office in East Cantonments, I pay the rent myself, I pay my own fuel, the State doesn’t give me fuel, I pay my own domestic staff, I pay my own medical bills, I pay my own air tickets when I travel,” former President John Dramani Mahama said.
SARA
Stan Dogbe is an aide to the former President