Ellen Ama Daaku, a Special Aide to NPP flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said Presidential Staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah is a “third-tier government official.”
Speaking on GTV, Ellen Ama Daaku defended Afenyo-Markin’s position after he indirectly called Nana Yaa Jantuah a “nobody” when she was delegated to receive a petition on the government’s behalf.
Ellen Ama Daaku stated, “I also want to say a good morning to Madam Nana Yaa Jantuah, the third-tier government official, and ask her to stop complaining about the NPP and Honourable Afenyo-Markin addressing her for what she is.
“She’s a third-tier government official, and the NPP feels it’s very disrespectful on the part of the government to send a third-tier government official to come and receive the petition. It is as simple as that,” she said.
She argued that Afenyo-Markin’s comments were not meant as a personal attack.
Ellen Ama Daaku added, “t is not an affront to her person. It is an affront to what she represents and what she came to do. How can she come alone? Nobody said she’s a nobody. In the scheme of things and in the order of governance, she’s a third-tier government official”.
“But what I heard him say was that, looking at the people the NPP brought out to come and present the petition, it was just fair that the government also, at least, brought comparable people. You just don’t send a single person, a third-tier CPP turned NDC government official, to come and receive a petition,” she said.
“So the Honorable Afenyo-Markin and the team did very well by giving the petition to our Deputy Youth Organizer, Sandra. I don’t see why she’s bothered. It matters [who receives the petition],” she stated.
Ama Daaku cited a similar incident involving a demonstration against the Bank of Ghana during the previous Akufo-Addo government.
“Two years ago, if you remember, the then opposition, now government members, also had a demonstration to the Bank of Ghana, and the Chief of Security at the Bank of Ghana was asked to come and receive the petition. They refused to even give the petition to the man because they called him (sic),” she recalled.
“In fact, yesterday, Nana Yaa Jantuah sat on ASEMPA FM and called that man a watchman, but that man is a lawyer. He’s a retired Army officer, and he heads the security of the Bank of Ghana. Then led by the now majority in Parliament, all the MPs, they said he was a watchman, and they would not hand their petition over to a watchman,” she added.
“As for us, we didn’t say that. All we said is that Nana Yaa Jantuah is a third-tier government official, and the government should have done better by bringing a more comparable delegation to come and collect it,” she said.
“Why is she crying? You are a third-tier, and you should be third-tier. You cannot move from CPP as General Secretary and go and become NDC Presidential Staffer, and you expect people to call you what? I heard her say she’s a top government official. Madam, you are not. You are a third-tier government official,” Ellen Ama Daaku concluded.
Meanwhile, Nana Yaa Jantuah has announced plans to petition Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin over comments made by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
According to Nana Yaa Jantuah, he is old enough to be Afenyo-Markin’s mother mother adding that the minority leader is a small boy in her eyes.
Nana Yaa Jantuah disclosed that she would formally petition Speaker Alban Bagbin to demand that the Minority Leader retract his remarks.
The Presidential Staffer argued that Afenyo-Markin’s comments were unacceptable.
Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM later on Thursday, Nana Jantuah expressed deep disappointment over the Minority Leader’s comments.
Nana Yaa Jantuah stated, “I am old enough to be your mother. Afenyo-Markin is a small boy in my eyes. Who is he to disrespect me? He should never try that again”.
“I will petition the Speaker for Afenyo-Markin to withdraw what he said. He used to call me ‘Senior.’ What has changed? I am so mortified. I cannot comprehend what happened,” she added.
The development follows Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who indirectly referred to her as a “nobody” during the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) recently concluded “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration.
Speaking during the presentation of the petition at the Presidency on Thursday, August 6, Mr Afenyo-Markin stated, “With great respect and without prejudice to your presence, to nominate only you to come amounts to disrespecting us as a political party”.
“But to disrespect our democracy by only nominating you to come, it means the government does not take seriously the great issues before us,” he stated.
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