Senior Aide and spokesman for Former President John Agyekum Kufour, Dr. Kwabena Osei-Adubofour has said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was displeased with Ghana’s governance under the NDC administration after his term of office elapsed in 2009.

Speaking exclusively to Nana Kwadwo Jantuah on the Oyerepa Breakfast Show, the former president’s aide described former president J.A Kufuor as a democrat who believes in the hazards of democracy and how he (Ex President Kufour) personally felt bad on the lack of developmental projects after 2008.

He allayed rumors of a certain rift between the former president and H.E Nana Addo Dankwah Akuffo-Addo as untrue and a blatant lie as H.E Nana Addo Dankwah was once Minister of state during his leadership and still continues to enjoy a cordial relationship with the President.

Describing J.A Kufuor as a friendly, sociable person and a patriot who has always had the passion and vision to serve which ultimately developed into his political career. He believes these attributes has helped the former president in staying healthy. He said the former president was available to advise politicians after a successful career in politics.

The spokesperson however raised concerns of lump sum of ex-Gratia not being paid for close to a decade, an issue which failed to be addressed during the late J.E.A Mills administration (former ministers of the NDC administration did receive ex-Gratia after exit ) and is still yet to receive any form of allowances. He acknowledged monthly pension allowances for the ex-president as being regularized after delays and is hopeful payment of ex-Gratia will follow soon. In a statement signed by the office of the former president, the spokesperson made this known as he explained an alleged misreporting to the media.

Read the full response on the alleged misreporting below.

Re: President Kufuor has not been paid his Ex-Gratia

The Office of Former President John Kufuor has come across some publications in the Ghanaian media to the effect that the former president is complaining that successive governments have refused to pay him the ex-gratia due him when he concluded his tenure as president in January 2009.

This office wants to make it clear that though the truth is still that President Kufuor has not been paid his ex-gratia, the reporter sensationally mischaracterized what he said and the circumstances under which he said that. The interviewer, Daniel Dadzie, specifically asked whether Mr. Kufuor’s ex-gratia has been paid. He answered that upon assuming office in January 2009, the late President John Atta-Mills declared that the Chinnery-Hesse report was not approved so it could not be used to pay Mr. Kufuor’s ex-gratia.  However, at the subsequent vetting of the then-new ministers in parliament, Hon Alban Bagbin confirmed that the report had, indeed, been approved by parliament. Despite this fact, the two NDC administrations from 2009 to 2017 did not pay the ex-gratia due former President Kufuor. Indeed, former President Kufuor specifically replied the Joy-FM interviewer that he had intentionally not brought the issue up with the present NPP government, though he intends to do so at an opportune time It must be stated here that Joy-FM had sought the interview and must therefore eschew sensationalizing it.

Signed

John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor is the second President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana and a former Chairperson of the African Union.