Nana Yaw Amponsah and Kwame Kyei
The euphoria surrounding the appointment of a new board and the chief executive for Asante Kotoko may just burst into flames and be blown away by the southeast monsoon winds. There is fire on the mountain!
A reliable source has told DAILY GUIDE SPORTS that the CEO, Nana Yaw Amponsah, has considered resigning—and so have Board Chairman Dr. Kwame Kyei and Vice Jude Arthur.
It would be recalled that during the introduction of the new CEO and board of directors, they all pledged their support for the former to run the club—but the opposite seems to be the case.
According to the source, the posture of the board has put the club on a tangent that could cause Kotoko to spiral into the wilderness for another decade.
The board is said to have taken joy in duplicating the work of the CEO since his appointment. With more than 10 board meetings held since their appointment, the board has gone ahead to institute management committees within the board who are running affairs on the blind side of the new CEO.
The source who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “I’m picking strong signals and I’m afraid the CEO may resign in the coming days to allow the board to run the club the way they want.”
It is understood that a section of the board members have formed a habit of granting interviews about what they intend in their personal capacities for the club, and are outdoing one another to keep the spotlight individually.
Recently, there were reports suggesting that there was a boardroom burst up between Dr. Kofi Abban and Nana Yaw Amponsah on a similar incident where the CEO was not happy about the board member promising to establish a Kotoko-owned TV station without recourse.
The source indicated that the Adako Jachie Training Complex which was meant to start two weeks ago to allow completion in time for resumption of football has stalled because after the CEO was said to have negotiated a good deal with the engineers, the board rather added many expensive options and decided to go and engage the engineers again on the blind side of the CEO.
The source explained that Kotoko were losing its transfer targets, because instead of the board providing money for the CEO to execute their transfer agenda, they’ve rather been engaging in player transfer negotiations themselves.
Some of the board members have also formed a recruitment committee to duplicate the work of the CEO.
According to the source, what broke the camel’s back was that “last week in respect of Kotoko’s participation in the CAF Champions League, the board at their last meeting held in Accra, decided to participate based on the case made by the CEO.”
“However, a few days after the board meeting, the board attempted to rescind their decision, because according to them, a radio pundit had made a case against why the team should not compete in Africa and the board had bought into his arguments to rescind their decision. Just like that.
“It only took the said pundit to go back on radio to make a case for why it’s important for Kotoko to participate in Africa after speaking to the CEO, where he claims, Amponsah made six solid arguments which convinced him to rescind his earlier argument and invariably the board to back their CEO again.”
Some board members, according to the source, are considering resigning on the basis of what they consider to be a hijack by the “rich Accra caucus.” It is understood that a coup was made to render Dr. Kwame Kyei redundant by the creation of sub-committees, of which he was not made a member.
“The Accra caucuses are using these sub-committees to run the show on the blind side of the board chairman and the CEO. Dr Kyei also threatened to resign and is telling his close allies that his decision is imminent,” the source added.
Jude Arthur has also refused to attend meetings due to what he called “lack of proper corporate governance” being exhibited by members. He has refused to attend what can be termed as “pub-board meetings”, where a few members meet to drink, make merry and convert same into board meetings.
The source claimed that those board members without deep pockets have been sidelined despite their rich knowledge of the game while “the money men” make all the footballing decisions.
“The poor members were openly told they don’t have the resources; hence, their views do not matter and that has also created a big crack in the board room,” the source alleged.
With the current situation at hand, Asante Kotoko supporters may not see the success and the renaissance they’ve always envisaged, because the hands of the board chairman, his vice and the CEO have been tied behind their backs.