A transition committee led by former Attorney General and Minister of Justice Nii Ayikoi Otoo took physical inventory of all 641 cars used at the presidency before the Mahama government left office, former Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has said.
Responding to a comment by Administrator General David Yaro that no such inventory was done, Mr Kwakye Ofosu said on Accra-based Class FM that: “That is not correct. I regret that I have to say this; like I’ve told you, Mr Ayikoi Otoo and a gentleman called Elvis Omane Adjei, who I believe should be speaking on this matter, were taken round to where these vehicles are.”
“For instance, I was given a Toyota Avensis, which I used as Deputy Minister of Communications, it came from the Office of the President but it was given to me through the transport officer at the Ministry of Communication, so, when I was leaving I parked it at the Ministry of Communications, if the Office of the President requires it, it will call for it.
Some of the vehicles are with the Judicial Service, some of them are with agencies like the Ghana Aids Commission, which operates under the Office of the President, some of them are at Regional Coordinating Councils, some of them are at various Ministries, Departments and Agencies, but Mr Ayikoi Otoo’s committee were taken round to physically inspect each of these vehicles, they were also taken to a place called Point Six, which is the name given to a place where broken down or unserviceable vehicles belonging to the presidency are kept and they took physical inventory of these vehicles, therefore, it is surprising that the Administrator General will make this commentary, it is entirely possible that the NPP side of the transition team sidelined him, and, so, perhaps, he is unaware of this physical inventory taken beyond the list that was given him,” Mr Kwakye Ofosu explained.
There is currently a back-and-forth between the Akufo-Addo government and the erstwhile Mahama administration concerning the number of state vehicles left at the presidency after the change in government. Nana Akufo-Addo’s press secretary Eugene Arhin revealed that 208 of those cars were missing.
The former government subsequently released a statement on Thursday saying it left behind 641 cars and dared the new government to point out the alleged missing ones.