Aspiring flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ing. Francis Addae-Nimo has chastised the founder of the Danquah Institute and influential member of the reigning government, Gabby Otchere-Darko’s comments on the former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo’s decision to picket at the Finance Ministry.
Madame Akuffo triggered an uproar among some government officials when she showed up to join her peers last Friday, February 10, 2023, to picket at the Finance Ministry. She was dissatisfied with the justification from the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to initially include pensioners in the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
Mr. Otchere-Darko was among those who criticized her move as misguided. “For a former CJ to take up a noble cause such as she did, but at such a late hour when all was done and for all that publicity, she owed it to herself and her social standing to have understood the issues far better than what she exhibited last Friday. “She’s bigger than that,” Mr Otchere-Darko said on Twitter.
According to Ing. Francis Addae-Nimoh in an interview with Don Kwabena Prah on Happy 98.9 FM’s “Epa Hoa Daben” socio-political talk show, the comments from Gabby Otchere-Darko were uncalled for.
For him, Madam Sophia Akuffo decided to express her frustrations in the capacity of a pensioner and how the decision by the Finance Ministry would affect her in that capacity. He believes she had the right to partake in the picketing, having served the country once.
“I think it was unnecessary for Gabby to make such comments because Madam Sophia Akuffo didn’t go there in the capacity of a former Chief Justice but rather as a pensioner who invested in government bonds. So if there’s any issue with her investment that would affect her life, she needs to express herself. “So it was uncalled for for Gabby to single her out and talk of her as the former Chief Justice,” he shared.
“She was a public officer, served the country, and then retired, so if she’s having trouble during her retirement, she doesn’t need to be mute. “She talked, she picketed, and that resulted in change, so the results of what Gabby said proved to be unnecessary,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister, Ken Ofor-Atta, addressing Parliament on Thursday, February 16, confirmed that all pensioners who failed to tender their old bonds for new ones under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) have been exempted from the program. Mr. Ofori-Atta said the pensioners have nothing to worry about, adding that all their coupons and principals will be honored when maturity is due.