The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, has responded to the “nauseating” calls by the Minority in Parliament for the Managing Director of BOST, Alfred Boateng to be interdicted over the sale of 5 million litres of contaminated petroleum product to a private company.
Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako notes that the minority, mainly made of National Democratic Congress members are privy to the mountainous rot former president Mahama’s administration created at BOST under the leadership of Kingsley Kwame Awuah-Darko and are resorting to Machiavellian tactics to conceal their trails.
Minority’s Demand
The minority caucus in Parliament are demanding for a thorough investigation into the sale of the contaminated petroleum product to a private company called Movenpiina by Mr. Alfred Obeng Boateng.
Addressing the press on Tuesday, they called for the immediate withdrawal of the contaminated product from the market to protect consumers and assurances that this will not recur.
In line with the recent Supreme Court decision, the minority further stated that the financial loss estimated at GHS 14.25 million be retrieved by surcharging the offending officials at BOST.
They also requested to know what culminated in the interdiction of General Manager of Terminals, Mr. Fred Adarkwa and the Trading Department Manager Mr. Nana Obeng all of BOST.
Wontumi Defends Alfred Boateng
However Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako who goes by the moniker Chairman Wontumi explains to Peacefmonline.com that BOST incurred huge debts under the bad leadership of its former Managing Director, Kingsley Kwame Awuah-Darko,
To divert attention, Chairman Wontumi adds that the minority is trying to give the new MD, Mr. Alfred Boateng a bad name and tag President Akufo-Addo’s government corrupt.
He slammed the NDC for creating the mess whilst in government and indicated that Awuah-Darko delibrately positioned Mr. Fred Adarkwa and Mr. Nana Obeng as General Manager of Terminals and Trading Department Manager respectively at BOST to stall the progression of the firm under the NPP’s administration.
“Alfred Boateng was new at BOST and you expect him to work peacefully with the staff he met. He trusted his staff especially Mr. Fred Adarkwa and Mr. Nana Obeng to help him at the place but from what I know, these two men who are stooges of Awuah-Darko were serving the interest of the NDC there and not the state”, Chairman Wontumi said.
Although the minority are claiming Mr. Fred Adarkwa and Mr. Nana Obeng strongly kicked against the clandestine process of selling contaminated petroleum product, Chairman Wontumi disagrees.
He maintains that “they (Mr. Fred Adarkwa and Mr. Nana Obeng) orchestrated the entire move and led Alfred Boateng on. Alfred Boateng is genuine and I am with him, he hasn’t done anything wrong. It is rather Awuah-Darko and his stooges who messed things up”.
BOST exposes minority’s political plan
A statement by BOST states that the controversy over the sale of contaminated fuel is serving no purpose and has come up because Mr. Alfred Boateng is cleaning up the rot of his predecessor.
According to BOST, “The minority’s assertion that the MD of BOST should be interdicted is baseless and unfounded. It is a political plan to divert the new MD’s attention from dealing with the rot of his predecessor, Mr. Kingsley Kwame Awuah-Darko, which has left BOST with a debt close to $300,000,000.”
An 8-member investigative Committee is being set up by the Ministry of Energy to look into the issues regarding the release of 5 million litres of off-spec fuel from the Accra Plains Depot of BOST.
The Committee would be made up of representatives of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors and the Bureau of National Investigations .
Thier task is to “determine the circumstances that created the off-spec product, review the procedures undertaken by BOST to evacuate the product and the transaction, ascertain the quality and remaining quantity of the product and determine if the product can be corrected. If not, determine the alternative use of the product.”
