Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress
• Kennedy Agyapong wants Ken Attafuah to apologise for saying that the NIA will not recruit NPP executives
• Attafuah says the decision is a directive from President Akufo-Addo
• Asiedu Nketia has jumped to his defence, asking him not to apologise
Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, has commended the Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority, NIA, for respecting a presidential directive that recruitment into the authority should be devoid of partisanship.
According to Asiedu Nketia, the NIA boss ought to be commended for making efforts to de-politicize public institutions as has been the case under the Akufo-Addo administration.
Attafuah has received backlash from leading members of the New Patriotic Party over the comments with Kennedy Agyapong threatening to embark on a campaign against President Akufo-Addo and vice president Mahamudu Bawumia if Attafuah is not axed.
But Asiedu Nketia believes that such calls are untenable and must be condemned. According to him, critics like Kennedy Agyapong should rather apologise to Ken Attafuah for their harsh criticism.
He however holds no brief for Ken Attafuah who he says is reaping the benefits of seeds he sowed during the registration process.
Asiedu Nketia also holds that comments by Ken Attafuah were made in jest and not something he or President Akufo-Addo are committed to.
“Have you seen the attacks on Attafuah. What sin has he committed? Is he being attacked because he said the president Akufo-Addo says recruitment into the NIA should not be partisan? Elders of the party who know well and should commend the man are the ones slating him. I don’t trust what he said but at least he should be commended for saying it.
“Whether he’ll apply it or not is another issue. Those saying he should apologise, who should he apologise to? Is the NIA NPP headquarters or NPP private business. But I blame Attafuah himself. What he did during the registration has caught up with him. He created the impression that the organization is for the NPP so he is finding it difficult to change the principle.
“We’ve allowed things to deteriorate to the extent that the NPP members feel entitled to anything in the country. Those criticizing him owe Attafuah apology not him. They should apologize to Attafuah,” he said.
Ken Attafuah in an interview with Kumasi-based Angel FM said that there is a conscious effort by himself on the orders of the President to ensure that political neutrality prevails at the NIA.
“The President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, he has charged me that I should make sure no party executives are hired in the process. He does not want to leave a legacy of employing his party members and packing them into a particular sector. No!”, Professor Attafuah noted during a radio interview with Angel FM.
The NIA boss continued: “No. He [Nana Akufo-Addo] wants us to build a neutral public service. Neutrality is one of the principles of the Public Service. We need political neutrality so we are doing what the law says we should do and the President supports it.”