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Dr. Joshua Jebuntie Zaato, a senior lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Political Science Department, has taken aim at the National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing the party of lacking the courage to discipline its own, particularly Sammy Gyamfi, over a recent controversy involving the handing over of U.S. dollars to Nana Agradaa.
The criticism comes after former President John Dramani Mahama chose not to take further disciplinary action against Gyamfi, who is currently the acting CEO of the Ghana Gold Board. A widely circulated video showed Gyamfi presenting an undisclosed amount of U.S. dollars to evangelist Patricia Asiedua Asiamah, popularly known as Nana Agradaa.
Dr. Zaato, speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Thursday, May 15, said Mahama’s response was not unexpected given Gyamfi’s prominent role and influence within the NDC.
“No matter how you look at these issues, no one in this country will say they are surprised by this development. If you look at the politics and who the person is, nobody will say he or she is surprised that the president took only the apology and let it go,” Dr. Zaato noted.
He explained that Gyamfi’s commanding presence in the party makes it nearly impossible for anyone within the NDC to confront or question him, even under such controversial circumstances.
“This man is so big, so important to the NDC that there is no one in the party who has the balls to go out and tell the president to fire Sammy Gyamfi,” he stated.
According to Dr. Zaato, the lack of internal pushback following the scandal only reinforces how deeply Gyamfi’s power is rooted in the party. He added that instead of facing criticism, Gyamfi received widespread support from both party members and government officials.
“There is nobody in the NDC who has the stature and the power like Sammy Gyamfi to go and tell the president to fire him. That is why when this issue happened, almost every government appointee fell in line. They were all whipped into line. Some of them went on national television, adding their support to him,” he explained.
Dr. Zaato also questioned the former president’s credibility in handling the issue, pointing out a disconnect between Mahama’s leadership image and his actual response.
“The problem is this: when the president came to power, he wanted to establish that he was different from the former president. But how different can you claim to be when your response to such a serious incident is merely to accept an apology and move on?” he concluded.
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