The traditional ruler expressed his disappointment with claims that he attended lesser meetings while he was a member of the Council of State.
Togbe Afede stated that the claims are untrue. He explained that during his time as a Council of State member, he was 'one of the active participants' in the Council's meetings.
He stated that Adom-Otchere's conduct on TV was not surprising as he has done a similar thing in the past.
"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 XIV explained to Joy News.
The Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, President of Asogli Traditional Area, further intimated that "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."
TWI NEWS
Paul Adom-Otchere had stated on Tuesday's edition of his Good Evening Ghana show that Togbe Afede XIV attended only 16 per cent of meetings during his tenure as a member of the Council of State.
"[Out] of the 48 months, the Council of State held 242 meetings of which Togbe Afede XIV attended 39 [meetings]; it constituted 16 per cent.
"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 per cent 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," the broadcaster noted.
Adom-Otchere was unhappy that the traditional leader refunded the over GH¢365 ex-gratia paid into his account at the end of his tenure as a member of the Council of State.
To him, although Togbe Afede's move has been hailed on social media as a patriotic gesture, he cannot comprehend why the traditional leader is being praised.
The payment of ex-gratia to Article 71 officeholders, Adom-Otchere noted, is captured in the 1992 Constitution, and therefore it was mischievous for Togbe Afede to have returned his in a manner that seemingly portrayed him as incorruptible.
