Spio: Ato Is Enemy No. 1

Mr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah a former Minister of Education, who seems to be assailed on all fronts by certain elements within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has singled out Mr. Ato Ahwoi, a Presidential Aide to Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, for being responsible for his mistreatment. According to Spio-Garbrah, who is also former presidential aspirant of the NDC, Mr. Ato Ahwoi�s hatred for him did not start now, but started way back in the mid 90s when President Rawlings nominated him to become Minister of Information. "It�s him and others in the party who said I had no vote, but what they forgot was that I had voted in the previous election," he said. He made an analogy whether one could be denied his Ghanaianess if his Ghanaian passport expires. Mr. Spio Garbrah, the director-General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Union (CTU) stated these before, during and after a press conference he held this week. According to him, he was with Prof. Mills throughout the campaign that dislodged the NPP from power, starting off, as the party�s Director of Communications, after Mr. Vincent Asiseh had left. He also later contested the flagbearship with Prof. Mills and two others at the party�s primaries and after losing to Prof. Mills committed time and energy towards helping the Prof to win the 2008 general elections. �I went on TV stations, spoke on radio, I was with him at the rallies exposing the corruption and misdeeds of the NPP which eventually culminated in victory for the NDC," he said. According to him, he was put in charge of Social Services and Infrastructure Committee of the NDC after Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan, had declared the results of the 2008 elections, and it had become obvious, that Prof. Mills had won the election. �Having played these roles, therefore, it cannot be said that I did not contribute to the victory of Prof. Mills in the 2008 general election�, he contended. He argued that it�s not true that he�s not a team player and also denied that he was arrogant. �I donated monies towards revamping the structures of the party�, and asked whether someone, who was arrogant, and a not a team player could work successfully, with the media, in his capacity as Director of Communications, at the NDC party headquarters� �It was Professor Mills who appointed me to chair the Social Services Sub Committee of the NDC after the 2008 elections, he was also the one who appointed me to head to Communication Department of the party when he was leaving for his teaching appointment in British Columbian 2002�, he pointed out. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah also referred to the role he played as Chairman of a Publicity Committee on the reintroduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT) in 1998 after an attempt by government to introduce the VAT had failed due to the Kume Preko demonstrations in 1998. At that time, he said, Mr. Kofi Totobi Quakyi, was the Minister of Information. This is because he�s a strategist and PR practitioner par excellence. However, according to him, he does not know whether it�s that appointment that made certain elements in the NDC at the time and now, decide to gang up against him. To a suggestion that he was a Rawlings� darling boy, he contended that he did not think so. "Rawlings gave certain people opportunity to serve in his government and some of them are in the Mills administration, so in effect we�re all Rawlings boys and girls�, he declared. What he knew about himself, was that he had a passion for competence and that his passion for Ghana, was to see a different attitude towards how we work to achieve results. He pointed out that he�s not begging to be given an appointment by President Mills. Asked whether he had seen the president, since he returned, he said no. He also revealed that he was yet to see the NDC party chairman even though he claimed he decided to come down owing to an invitation extended to him by Dr. Kwabena Adjei, on the internet. Mr. Spio-Garbrah, was in the news recently when he questioned the type of team being worked with by the Mills administration, labeling them as Team B. His comments elicited a sharp response from Mr. Ato Ahwoi, one of the President�s Aides at the Castle, who accused Spio of setting his eyes on the 2012 presidential race of the party and dared him to go to hell, saying Prof. Mills will never give him post. Another operative at the Castle, Koku Anyidoho attacked him questioning the status of his so-called Doctorate.