Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has defended Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, against allegations that he attempted to sabotage Professor Frimpong-Boateng while serving as Chairman of the now-defunct Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
Mr Oppong Nkrumah was accused of gathering media to write unfavourable stories regarding Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s work as Chairman of the IMCIM.
However, in an interview with Citi News, Mr Jinapor stated that Mr Oppong Nkrumah is clean.
“I know the Information Minister to be a gentleman of honour, I will never in my wildest of imagination come to the suspicion that the Information Minister will engage in such an act. He is a fine and decent gentleman who does his business with a lot of integrity and candour.”
The galamsey report made several allegations against some government and political party officials who allegedly made various attempts to thwart his efforts in clamping down on illegal mining in the country.
Particularly, the report alleged that Mr Oppong Nkrumah assembled a group of NPP and NDC journalists on February 8, 2020, in Dodowa to discuss a strategy to bring him (Prof. Frimpong-Boateng) down, an event that occasioned negative media reports about his fight against illegal mining.
The report also claimed that Mr Oppong Nkrumah’s briefs to Cabinet on the missing excavators’ saga were deliberate and sinister acts targeted at him and his fight against galamsey.
However, Oppong Nkrumah denied engaging in any scheme or practice that seek to hurt others, as it goes against his principles and upbringing questioning the feasibility and prudence of a scenario of getting both NPP and NDC affiliated journalists to work against a colleague minister.
In a rebuttal, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng in a statement said he had a piece of fatherly advice to the Information Minister.
“My advice is, always remember that political power is both short-lived and effervescent. In about 2
years’ time you may no longer be in government, and you may experience the real world as former high-profile political power holders do. I will urge you to do your work diligently and avoid the coded and evil
tactics Mr. Paul Adom-Otchere boastfully and unashamedly told the world on ‘Good Evening Ghana’ that
you employ to deal with your real and perceived enemies.”
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