Ashim Morton, the President of the Millennium excellence Foundation (MEF) has accepted the fact that he has contradicted himself before the cash-for-seat committee today.

Mr Morton stated that an amount of GHS2,367,426.06 was received by the foundation as part of its share of the profit made at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards (GEBA).

He added that the some of GHS40,000 was paid by the Trade Ministry and the figures contradicted the amount of money presented to the Chairman of the committee, Hon. James Klutse on a document.

The Deputy Minority Leader asked Mr Morton to repeat the figures he had quoted earlier as the profit share of the foundation.

"In total how much did you receive from the Ministry,"  he asked

"You told us and I wrote it down the amount you claim you received from the Ministry. I just want you to repeat it," the Deputy Minority leader said.

Mr Morton was however struck with silence when requested to repeat the amount quoted.

Mr Klutse continued by quoting a figure of  GHS2.4million that had earlier been supplied to the Committee, but according to Mr Morton that figure rather represented the “total expenditure for the entire event."

"Mr Chairman I misquoted myself," Mr Morten then acknowledged saying he will present  the Committee with the amount the Foundation received as its profit.

He however rejected the claim that companies paid monies to sit close to the President.

“No one company paid a $100,000”, he stated.

Moreover, he said the Trade Ministry had ordered that no seat should be sold at the Presidential table to expatriates present at the event.

Mr Morton maintained the word 'president' stated on the $100,000 sponsorship package was referring to him and not president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who was not billed to attend the event.

"I am going through this carefully to erase that notion that someone paid to sit with the Head of State. No company paid $100,000 to sit on the table," he indicated.

Ghanaguardian.com