President Mahama succeeds in diverting attention from hot issues with press briefing - Dr. Amoako Baah

Dr. Amoako Baah, Political Science Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST),  has described the press conference by President John Dramani Mahama at the Flagstaff House as a diversionary tactic. He explained that the President meeting the media at the Presidency was meant to divert the attention of Ghanaians from the uncertain issue surrounding the voters’ register as all stakeholders including the EC agree the register is bloated. Dr. Amoako Baah asserted President Mahama intentionally and hurriedly arranged the press conference to prevent the media from reporting on matters arising from the voters’ register and the EC boss.

He mentioned that until President Mahama’s press conference, the trending issues in the country were EC boss showing regret for accepting to be the Commissioner, the Employment Minister, Haruna Iddrisu’s YEA scandal as well as the two Gitmo ex-detainees. Hon Iddrisu is said to have made “financial demands” on an employment agency under the ministry to finance his foreign travels. Haruna Iddrisu requested from the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) GH¢129,089 on 17th March 2015 and GH¢900, 7545.68 on 12 May 2015 for travels to ILO meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. To him, “the press briefing is a diversion to stop the media from talking about EC and Haruna Iddrisu’s YEA scandal….we are now discussing the things the president said, leaving out issuing bothering on the EC and Haruna Iddrisu”.