General News of Thursday, 12 February 2015
Source: Graphic Online
The Minister of Sports, Mr Mahama Ayaraiga, has stated that President John Mahama did not have prior knowledge that the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) had agreed to give each member of the Black Stars $25,000.
President Mahama announced when he met the players at the Flagstaff House Tuesday that GNPC had pledged to give them the amount for their performance at the AFCON 2015 tournament in Equatorial Guinea, where they lost 8-9 on penalties to the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire.
But the Sports Minister in an interview with Accra-based Peace FM Wednesday said the President had not been aware of the package.
Mr Ayariga said he had passed on a note to the President to inform him of GNPC’s gesture.
The Minister said: “Let me tell you…to be frank with you, the government… in fact the President [John Mahama] didn’t even know that GNPC was giving the players any money until when he was speaking and I gave him [the President] a note.
“…It was only then that he knew that GNPC was giving that bonus to the players. He didn’t even know. It was there in the hall that I informed him…he asked how much and I mentioned it to him…”
“The President has nothing to do with it, if you think it’s the president who is coercing GNPC to do that. He didn’t even know,” he added.
Some Ghanaians have expressed outrage at the package, describing it as extravagant.