A member of the Government�s Communication Team and Convener of Research and Advocacy Platform (RAP), Felix Kwakye-Ofosu, says the group �can state without a shudder of doubt� that Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo then known as William Akufo Addo, attended Oxford University.
The pro-NDC loyalists group, however, says its investigations have yet to unearth why the NPP flagbearer truncated his education at that prestigious institution.
�He was admitted to the institution in the 1962/63 academic year but left shortly after for reasons we are yet to be apprised of,� said Felix Kwakye-Ofosu.
At a press conference held in Accra today, RAP said �attempts made to conceal� Nana Addo�s attendance of Oxford and �his failure to tell the truth when the matter became public completely undermines his claims of incorruptibility.�
�It is common knowledge that corruption thrives in an atmosphere of cover ups, untruths and a lack of transparency therefore a man who cannot be forthcoming with the truth regarding his own academic record cannot be relied upon to manage Ghana�s resources. Like one Flagbearer noted at the recent IEA Presidential debate �if you hide things about yourself, it is corruption��We have made enquiries into that subject as well from Oxford University and will put out information regarding that matter in due course. However, we deem it appropriate to afford Mr Akufo Addo or his spokespersons an opportunity to clarify it first,� RAP said.
Below is a copy of the statement read at the press conference.
Claims of Incorruptibility
STATEMENT BY RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY PLATFORM (RAP) ON NANA AKUFO ADDO OXFORD CONTROVERSY ON 26/11/2012
Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press and thank you for responding to our invitation once again. Last week, we addressed you on an issue which we consider to be very worrying for our democracy. It concerned the lack of transparency surrounding the attendance of Oxford University or otherwise by the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo Addo.
We expressed concern that after years of widespread speculation about this matter, neither Mr Akufo Addo himself nor his spokespersons have bothered to clear the air. We called on him to state:
1. Whether he attended Oxford University of not;
2. Whether he truncated his education at that prestigious institution; and
3. What informed his premature departure from Oxford University?
We noted when we met you last week that the office of President which Mr Akufo Addo seeks demands the highest standards of ethical conduct. Occupants of that office, and those seeking to occupy that high office, must at all times be candid with the people of Ghana. Voters making a choice among a number of candidates deserve as much information as possible to enable them make the right decisions at the polls.
Therefore if Nana Akufo Addo went to Oxford and has failed to capture that on his CV, it would amount to concealment of information which concealment deprives Ghanaians of the opportunity to have as much information as is required to shape their decisions on who leads the nation for the next four years.
In the wake of our press conference last Wednesday, several NPP functionaries instead of answering the pointed questions we asked of Mr Akufo Addo, sought to evade the question and created the impression that having knowledge of a Presidential aspirant�s record was not necessary. Eventually, Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor who speaks for Mr Akufo Addo ventured a clarification on Joy FM�S News night program. When asked whether Nana Akufo Addo attended Oxford University, Mr Abu Jinapor who claimed to have been given an official briefing by his boss, read out a list of schools the former attended but conspicuously missing on that list was Oxford University.
This statement by Nana Akufo Addo�s spokesperson in our view amounts to a denial of his attendance of Oxford.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we disclosed last week that in view of the fact that getting Mr Akufo Addo or his spokesperson to tell the truth about this matter had become as difficult as squeezing water out of a stone, we had taken steps to clarify the matter by writing to the Oxford University. We pledged to make public our findings in due time.
The Research and Advocacy Platform can state without a shudder of doubt that Mr Akufo Addo then known as William Akufo Addo, attended Oxford University. He was admitted to the institution in the 1962/63 academic year but left shortly after for reasons we are yet to be apprised of. In an email correspondence addressed to Research and Advocacy Platform last week, Mr Jeremy Drew, Manager of the Degree Conferrals office, wrote ��Mr Akufo Addo was admitted to New College, Oxford University, in October 1962�.
It is obvious from the above, that Mr Akufo Addo has not been candid with the people of Ghana. He has for several years hidden this fact from us in spite of many questions raised by many commentators on the subject. While concealing this fact was worrying, it is the subsequent denials anytime this matter has been raised, as was the case last Wednesday when his spokesperson Abu Jinapor spoke on Joy FM, that offers scope for the greatest concern. Indeed there have been NPP spokespersons who have said in the past that he was never at that institution but rather it was his father Mr Edward Akufo Addo.
It is instructive that Nana Akufo Addo has sought to mount the moral high ground on the subject of corruption. He has claimed that he is not corrupt and has never been corrupt. However, the efforts he made to conceal his attendance of Oxford and his failure to tell the truth when the matter became public completely undermines his claims of incorruptibility. It is common knowledge that corruption thrives in an atmosphere of cover ups, untruths and a lack of transparency therefore a man who cannot be forthcoming with the truth regarding his own academic record cannot be relied upon to manage Ghana�s resources. Like one Flagbearer noted at the recent IEA Presidential debate �if you hide things about yourself, it is corruption�.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the next question that comes to mind after establishing that Mr Akufo Addo indeed attended Oxford University, is why he left prematurely. This aspect of Mr Akufo Addo�s Oxford University experience has been the subject of intense public discourse. Some people claiming to have knowledge of the matter have said that he was dismissed from the institution for poor academic performance whilst others have alleged that it was for illicit drug use. We have made enquiries into that subject as well from Oxford University and will put out information regarding that matter in due course. However, we deem it appropriate to afford Mr Akufo Addo or his spokespersons an opportunity to clarify it first.
It is our hope that this time Mr Akufo Addo and his spokespersons will be candid with the people of Ghana because the good people of Ghana deserve to know.
Thank you, you may now ask questions.
Felix Kwakye Ofosu
Convener
Source: PEACEFMONLINE.COM/Ghana
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