Freddie Blay
Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Freddie Blay, has dismissed calls from some ubiquitous civil society organisations for his resignation.
This follows accusations that GNPC intends to sell its 50 percent stake in Jubilee Holdings Limited (JOHL) to PetroSA.
Mr. Blay denied any wrongdoing and stated that he has a clear conscience regarding his occupation as the Board Chairman of the Corporation.
He added that he would only resign if the President, who appointed him, no longer wants to work with him.
Speaking in an interview on Accra based Citi FM, Mr. Blay addressed the accusations made against him by the 29 CSOs calling for his head, stating: “I have done nothing wrong that will warrant my resignation. My conscience is clear. I have not taken any money, I have not taken any bribe, I have not done anything wrong.”
He continued “Possibly, I could be fired, but I don’t see any reason why they are saying I should resign about this issue. I have done nothing wrong. I have observed my conscience and I thought I was protecting the interest of the country, and I am convinced about it and if others think otherwise and if those who appointed me are saying otherwise, then so be it.”
Furthermore, Mr. Blay pointed out that “I have spoken to the president about it, and we haven’t gotten to where he will ask for his job back. It is not about convincing the president, the law will speak for itself and the law will talk and there are few documents on the agreement.”
In an attempt to cause a bad blood between him and the Energy Minister, Mathew Opoku Prempeh as reported by a section of the media, Mr. Blay pointed out that “I don’t think we [he and Mr. Prempeh] have any differences that are so serious that they are detrimental to the interest of Ghana. You know, Napo has strong opinions, and I am also a little determined when I am talking about anything that I know of. We met today (yesterday) and we exchanged ideas brightly.”
At a news conference on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 some supposed 29 CSOs demanded the removal of the GNPC’s Chief Executive Officer, Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah, and Board Chairman, Freddie Blay.
The CSOs alleged that Mr. Blay, in his capacity as the GNPC Board Chairman, had written to PetroSA, offering an equal split in the interest held by GNPC’s subsidiary, Jubilee Oil Holdings Ltd.
The alleged sale of the JOHL shares has been met with opposition from civil society organisations who have questioned the transparency and fairness of the deal.
The GNPC is a state-owned oil and gas company responsible for the development, exploration, production, and distribution of petroleum in Ghana.
By Vincent Kubi