Dr. Johnson P. Asiama explains why he resigned as Deputy BoG Governor

- A former senior official of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson P. Asiama, has revealed the reason behind his exit from office

- He disclosed that he was asked by the finance minister, Ken Ofori Atta, to resign from office

- According to him, the minister explained that President Akufo-Addo wished to appoint someone else to take his place

A former deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Johnson P. Asiama, has disclosed the reason behind his decision to resign from the Bank of Ghana.

Dr. Asiama, who was appointed by the Mahama administration, opted to take his accumulated leave in December 2017 which was part of his exit plan.

This came as a surprise as his tenure as deputy governor was to end in April 2020.

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His resignation came nine months after his former boss, Dr. Abdul-Nashiru Issahaku, resigned as governor, shortly after the Akufo-Addo government took office.

In a press statement released on Wednesday, 16 January, 2019, he denied allegations that his exit from office was linked to the Menzgold scandal.

This was after the third vice chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Michael Omarie Wadie, claimed that Dr. Asiama left because he played a role in the ongoing matter.

“I was called and asked to resign from office by the finance minister Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta. And the reason he gave me that day was that the president wanted to appoint his own person in my place. It never had anything to do with Menzgold whatsoever. The rest is history”, he said.

He however stated that as part of his duties as the Supervising Governor for the Other Financial Institutions Supervisory Department (OFSD), he held discussions with representatives from Menzgold Ghana Limited.

According to him, the OFSD regulates microfinance institutions in Ghana and for that reason, he met with them.

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Present at that meeting, he said, were representatives from the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC), Minerals Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources.

He went on to say that in August 2017, he led a team from the BoG to appear before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament to respond to certain issues in the Auditor General's 2016 Report.

The report, he explained, had nothing to do with the ongoing Menzgold saga. However, a Member of Parliament (MP) asked of Menzgold’s status, and he took time to explain that the BoG was not regulating Menzgold.

He further added that Menzgold had a licence issued by the Minerals Commission and the PMMC to buy and export gold.

Dr. Asiama noted that he has referred the matter to his lawyers and a follow-up letter would soon be released to help seek redress in court.

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Source: YEN.com.gh