The former Minister of Employment and Labour Relations in the erstwhile Mahama administration, Nii Armah Ashitey has debunked rumours purporting that he is dead.
Mr Ashitey says he has been mistaken for the former Greater Accra Regional Minister under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, Mr Ishmael Ashitey who died last week.
This was contained in a statement issued by Nii Armah.
“We are sorry to hear the trending news of the passing of Ishmael Ashitey; our sincere condolence to his family. However, as sad as the news of his passing may be, there seem to be some confusion and a clear case of mistaken identity that requires urgent attention.
“We wish to state categorically that, Nii Armah Ashitey is alive, hearty and healthy. The late Ishmael Ashitey and Nii Armah Ashitey had a few things in common which may have caused the mistaken identity,” parts of the statement read.
The statement explained that, while Nii Armah Ashitey is a trade unionist and lawyer from Teshie and Osu, the late Ishmael Ashitey was a mechanical engineer who hailed from Teshie.
It added that, though both were former Ministers of State, former Members of Parliament and former Regional Ministers, they belonged to different political parties.
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Nii Armah Ashitey served as a Chief Executive for the Tema Municipal Assembly for eight years.
He was also the Member of Parliament (MP)for Klottey Korle, the Greater Accra Regional Minister and a Minister for Employment and Labour Relations at some points in time.
However, the late Ishmael, was a former Greater Accra Chairman of the NPP, a former MP for Tema East, a former Deputy Minister for Fisheries and former Minister for the Greater Accra Region.
“These similarities and more we believe are the basis of this mistaken identity. Once again, we wish to bring to the attention of the general public that Nii Armah Ashitey is alive and kicking” the statement added.
It, has therefore, urged the public to disregard the rumour.