Richard Ahiagbah, Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party, NPP, has disclosed that government is putting in place efforts to get an office for former president John Dramani Mahama.
His comments on Accra-based Citi FM, came hours after he had affirmed on Metro TV that he had documents to the effect that the state was taking care of the bills of an office Mr. Mahama currently uses at East Cantonments.
At a press conference a day before, September 15, Ahiagbah dismissed Mahama’s claims that he was not enjoying the full end-of-service benefits due him as a former Head of State as contained in Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution.
“The government of Ghana is working to give him an office. There is a conversation to get him an office.
“If the office has not been given to him, the letter I have here has not confirmed it but what it tells me is that there is a conversation to give him an office and his office is aware,” the NPP Communications Director said.
Ahiagbah had on Thursday morning been challenged on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme by show host, Randy Abbey, and co-panelist, Sammy Gyamfi, to provide docuemnts to support his claim that government was paying for Mahama’s private office.
Under pressure to share the evidence of payment he claimed to have, his response was that it was not immediately available on his phone.
Randy then intervened: “There is no document that proves that the office accommodation is paid by government.”
When Ahiagbah tried to affirm his position, Randy stressed: “Maybe something else flashed your face. There is no document.”
“I saw the document (and) I made a conscious decision not to circulate it,” the NPP National Communications officer stated.
The discussions were on recent claims by John Dramani Mahama that aside his monthly pension, he was settling a lot of his bills all by himself because government had failed to pay his full emoluments.
What Mahama told TV3 in an exclusive interview:
“I receive only my monthly pension like [former] President Kufuor, and [late former] President Rawlings was receiving [it] before he died. That is all I get.
“I pay the electricity bill for my house and my office, I pay the water bill for my house and my office. I live in my own accommodation so the State does not pay me anything for accommodation.
“They haven’t given me an office, I rent an office in East Cantonments, I pay the rent myself, I pay my own fuel, the State doesn’t give me fuel, I pay my own domestic staff, I pay my own medical bills, I pay my own air tickets when I travel,” former President John Dramani Mahama said.
