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News of the sacking of Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, seems to have dominated the airwaves since it was officially announced by the Presidency.
Following the fallout from the controversial AMERI deal, President Akufo-Addo decided to relieve Mr. Agyarko off his duty as minister of energy.
A statement signed by head of communications at the presidency Eugene Arhin, said the decision is “in the best interest of the country and his administration”.
The sacking of the energy minister has come as no shock, especially for those who have closely monitored the situation.
Below are five reasons why Nana Addo had no choice than to sack Mr. Agyarko:
1. Revised AMERI deal
The past one week has been dominated by debates and counter-debates about the re-negotiation of the AMERI deal.
The deal was widely criticized after it emerged that it was worse than the one first negotiated by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
A pro-government newspaper, the Statesman, also reported that the President was misled when he okayed the agreement for parliamentary consideration.
It turns out that the President was truly misled and that may have given him no choice than to sack his energy minister. 2. He made the president look bad since he granted executive approval to the AMERI deal
Another reason why President Akufo-Addo may perhaps have decided to sack Boakye Agyarko was the fact that the AMERI deal put him in a pretty bad standing.
Upon being brought to Parliament, the deal had an executive approval, which meant that the President was in support of it.
Following revelations that the renegotiated AMERI deal posed no economic benefit to the nation, it was only prudent that the President sacked the man at the helm of the whole negotiation.
3. The deal ran counter to Akufo-Addo’s much touted anti-corruption fight
One attribute synonymous with President Akufo-Addo is his anti-corruption tag.
As a man who has practiced law for almost half of his life, Nana Addo is known for his hard stance against corruption.
This was definitely an opportunity to further deepen the claim that his government has no room for corruption, irrespective of who is involved.
Boakye Agyarko’s case is no different, with his actions running counter to Akufo-Addo’s much touted anti-corruption stance.
4. AMERI deal threatened to divide the party
The fallout from the AMERI deal created factions within the NPP. While some persons saw it as no major issue, other party executives took it very serious.
Not taking action would have made Akufo-Addo look weak and given credence to the perception that Agyarko is untouchable.
But to prove that there are no untouchables in his government, the President had to wield the axe to serve as deterrent.
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5. There were suspicions that Agyarko was building a war chest to contest the presidency in future
Unconfirmed reports making rounds had it that Boakye Agyarko had ambitions of contesting for Presidency in the near future.
Reports from certain quarters claimed that the sacked energy minister was interested in even becoming the NPP’s flagbearer in the 2020 elections.
If these were true, then it should come as no surprise that Nana Addo decided to fire him when the goofed.
