The Head of Policy Monitoring and Evaluation Unit at the Presidency, Dr. Tony Aidoo has fired back at persons who have criticized his election to the 11-member African Union (AU) Advisory Board on Corruption, describing them as petty-minded people.
Anti-corruption crusader and MP for Asikuma Odoben-Brakwa, P.C Appiah Ofori Tuesday told Citi News Dr. Aidoo will be of no use to the continent on the Corruption Advisory Board. His reasons are that, Dr. Aidoo has no experience in the fight against corruption.
“If the Board is a Board established to insult people then Tony Aidoo is the right one to represent Ghanaians because his area is insulting people. Tony Aidoo is not known in the fight against corruption so if he goes to serve on the Board what contribution is he going to make?” He asked.
The NPP’s Communication Director and MP for Okaikwei South, Nana Akomea is also of the view that Dr. Tony Aidoo is not the best man for the job. According to him, aside the fact that Dr. Aidoo lacks the credentials in anti-corruption work, his role at the presidency is crucial and should not be sacrificed for the AU job.
Nana Akomea suggested that P.C. Appiah Ofori would have been a better choice. Dr. Tony Aidoo has however dismissed the two men’s concerns, describing their reactions as evidence of their ignorance about the mandate, functions and powers of the organization, and were only assuming that his job involves the performance of an executive function.
“For as long as I have been listening to P.C. Appiah Ofori it comes out clearly that he wants a job. And I have offered it to him. I will personally go to Professor Mills and tell him to take this burden away from me and give it to P.C. Appiah Ofori. As the Presidential Advisor on Policy Evaluation and Oversight, I also deal with the establishment of means of closing the avenues for corruption and other financial malpractices. To the extent that P.C. Appiah Ofori feels that he is better qualified because he has been making noise about corruption, I am prepared to vacate this post and give it to him” he said.
“I will even give him the whole one and a half year salary that I have got and I will still live peacefully. I can survive because I never applied or canvassed for a job. I was asked to submit my CV to the office of the President on the basis of my data which was subjected to comparative judgment by a panel of judges at the AU I was chosen. Why are people bickering? It is not a full-time job and it is not taking me out of Ghana. I dare say that, the body will probably not meet more than twice a year. So what is wrong with this petty-minded, pea-brained people of this country?” he asked.
Dr. Tony Aidoo questioned the anti-corruption credentials of Mr. Appiah Ofori, saying he was only a noise-maker who makes unsubstantiated allegations.
He chided P.C. Appiah Ofori for only coming out to condemn NPP MPs who he alleged accepted kickbacks to approve the Ghana Telecom-Vodafone deal only because he had not been given his share of the alleged $5,000 bribe.