DID GHANA'S JANUARY PROTEST TRIGGER ADEDEJI'S DOWNFALL?

By George-Ramsey Benamba,

GNA Special Correspondent,

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, Jan. 31, GNA - The Ghanaian African Peer Review Panel of Eminent Persons (APRM) Delegation currently attending the APRM Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday expressed its dissatisfaction with the dictatorial leadership of Professor Adebayo Adedeji, Chairperson of the body.

They cited the cancellation of discussions on the re-constitution of the APRM Panel; restructuring of the APRM Secretariat and status of country financial contributions as some of the issues, which created dissatisfaction among members at the summit.

These came to light, when the leadership of the delegation, led by Professor S.K. Adjepong, Chairman of the Governing Council of APRM briefed Vice President John Dramani Mahama, who is also in Addis Ababa to attend the 14th Ordinary Session of the African Union Heads of State and Government Summit.

Professor Adjepong explained that the meeting was going on smoothly until Professor Adedeji half-way announced the withdrawal of the named issues from the agenda.

He said the sudden withdrawal of those issues, which formed the core business of the discussions, did not only create a lot of room for suspicion, but could also create chaotic and negative repercussions for the Mechanism.

The Chairman of the Ghana Governing Council of APR said Ghana had played a meaningful role in the implementation of APRM on the Continent and would do everything possible in its jurisdiction to save it from undergoing negative challenges.

"There is the need to evaluate and review the APRM structures, processes and Mechanisms in order to uphold the principles and ideals enshrined in the founding documents as well as to ensure the integrity and credibility of APRM".

In his response, Vice President Mahama urged the leadership of APRM to stick to its ideals of good governance; transparency and openness and to serve as a rallying point for the development of the African Continent. He said Ghana had the moral authority to sustain the vibrancy of APRM and commended the Delegation for coming out with a memorandum to point out some of the issues they perceived dictatorial.