Deputy Minister-designate for Local Government John Bless Oti should be disqualified if found to be incompetent to handle the portfolio to which he has been appointed, private legal practitioner Chris Ackumey has admonished.
Mr Ackumey, a member of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), argued that the committee which reviewed the appointments by President John Mahama should have Mr Oti withdrawn because he will serve Ghana and not the NDC.
“He is not going to be appointed as minister of NDC but a minister of Ghana and for Ghanaians. If Ghanaians see his performance [during the vetting] not worthy of occupying the position, it is up to the vetting committee to do its work,” he stressed.
He was reacting to inconsistencies in the name on the curriculum vitae and other documents presented by Mr Oti to parliament during his vetting for the position.
On Citi FM’s The Big Issue on Saturday July 23, he stressed that the vetting committee should do its job diligently.
The Appointment Committee of parliament on Friday July 22 advised the deputy minister-designate for local government, John Bless Oti, to go back to Nkwanta Senior High School to procure an original certificate bearing his original name from birth to aid the committee’s decision to approve his nomination or otherwise.
This became necessary after Mr Oti’s certificate presented to the committee bore different names.
Originally called Kopi Kwabena John, the nominee presented a sworn affidavit issued on February 2005 with a change of name. He had changed his name from Kopi Kwabena John to John Oti Kwabena Bless. However, the Curricula Vitae and certificates he presented to the committee bore the name John Bless Oti.
The nominee insisted Oti was his surname while his documents and the sworn affidavit proved Bless was his surname.
Mr Oti explained to the committee that the confusion resulted from the arrangement of his name, promising to work on it.
But Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu advised the nominee to go back to Nkwanta Senior High School, his alma mater to obtain a certificate bearing his original name before the committee would consider passing him.
Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com/91.3FM
