Asogli State: Paul Adom Otchere Lied When He Said Togbe Afede Attended 39 Of 242 Council Sittings
The Asogli State Council of Togbe Afede XIV has refuted allegations made by broadcaster Paul Adom Otchere on his Good Evening Ghana show about their paramount chief.
The host, while addressing his audience on the return of the ¢365,392.67 Ex Gratia to the state by Tobge Afede, indicated that it’s not a crime to accept Ex Gratia.
He also claimed that the Paramount Chief of the Asogli State attended only 39 out of 242 meetings of the Council of State members in 48 months.
“In 48 months the council held 242 meetings and of those 242 meetings the distinguished Togbe Afede attended 39 of them and that constitutes 16 percent of the meetings Togbe attended. Togbe attended 39 out of 242 meetings and this is the fact from the Council of State document. He attended only 16 percent of the meetings in four years. However, the Council of State is paid every month as he stated. He took all his salaries and he is entitled to it, I have no qualms about that.
“… You should have stated that you were unable to attend the majority of the meetings but you took all your money. All the salaries were taken and not just the salaries, including the famous car loan. Togbe Afede as part of the Council of State got a car loan,” Adom Otchere is quoted to have said according to My News Gh.
In reaction to this, the Asogli State Council said it wouldn’t have commented on comments from Adom Otchere “knowing who he is” but specific allegations he made cannot be ignored.
It described as incorrect and misleading, the figures presented by the TV host and with the sole aim of discrediting Togbe’s performance at the Council.
It added, “We challenge him to provide the Council’s attendance register from which he compiled his numbers”.
Additionally, it stated that Togbe Afede never took a loan from the Government however, he took a commercial loan just like all other members of the Council from SG Bank which he has fully repaid.
“Togbe presented himself as a resident of Accra and did not claim any transport allowances from the council.
“Togbe did not say the Ex Gratia payments were illegal. He believes part-time work by our senior citizens should not merit Ex Gratia payment by our poor country”, a press release from the Asogli State Council outlined.
The Asogli State Council also emphasised that Togbe Afede XIV’s rejection of the money is not political.
After refunding the ¢365,000 to the State, the paramount chief of the Asogli State justified that although he delivered on his mandate effectively as a member of the council of state, he does not think that merited him the payment of an ex Gratia after receiving monthly payments for the work he did during his tenure on the council.
“I thought that extra payment was inappropriate for a short, effectively part-time work, for which I received a monthly salary and was entitled to other privileges. So I was uncomfortable with it”, he said in a statement.
He added that his rejection of the money is consistent with his abhorrence of the payment of huge Ex Gratia and other “outrageous” benefits to people who have by their volition offered to serve “our poor country”.
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
