Veep Dr. Bawumia, President Akufo-Addo, Kweku Baako and Charlotte Osei
Sacked Electoral Commissioner, Charlotte Osei, met President Akufo-Addo yesterday.
She had accompanied veteran journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr., believed to be a family member of the ex-EC boss and the entire family to thank the President and his Vice Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for honouring their invitation during final funeral rites of Mr. Baako’s mother, Gloria Aba Addison recently.
Also accompanying Mr. Baako’s family to the presidency was Kobina Ade Coker, NDC Greater Accra Regional Chairman, and veteran NDC member Madam Faustina Nelson, who are all believed to be family members of the veteran journalist.
The picture of Mrs. Osei and others at the Jubilee House yesterday went viral on social media and many opposition NDC supporters bizarrely started firing salvos at her because they claimed President Akufo-Addo and his NPP administration ‘removed’ her as EC boss in 2018.
Some even went to the extent of saying Mrs. Osei is a ‘traitor’ for simply taking pictures with the President as if she was a member of the NDC.
The President and his Vice as well as top government officials including the Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare attended Kweku Baako’s mother’s burial service held a forth night ago.
The then Chairperson of the EC and her two deputies namely Amadu Sulley in charge of Operations and Georgina Opoku-Amakwah who was responsible for Corporate, were removed from their posts in July 2018 following the recommendation by a committee set up by then Chief Justice Sophia AB Akuffo, to investigate a number of serious allegations and counter allegations made against the three.
The petition had been brought against Mrs. Osei by 17 workers of the EC in July 2017, and afterwards a counter petition was filed against her two deputies by a non-staff of the commission named Emmanuel Korsi Senyo, aka Emmanuel Korsi Senyo Kumedzina, who is an activist of the opposition NDC and graduate of KNUST.
The three EC gurus were subsequently sacked from office by the President on grounds of stated misbehaviour and incompetence as recommended by a five-member committee set up by the Chief Justice to investigate the affected EC chieftains.
Following the removal of the three EC bosses, the opposition NDC under whose tenure all the three officers were elevated to their respective positions cried foul, claiming the NPP administration was targeting Mrs. Charlotte Osei in order to rig the 2020 general elections.
However, President Akufo-Addo then said the decision to remove the chairperson and her two deputies from office was not borne out of hatred.
He said he only acted on the recommendations of the committee set up by the Chief Justice to investigate complaints against the sacked EC boss and her two deputies.