New Standards Authority boss resigns

The newly appointed Director of the Ghana Standards Authority Dr. Addai-Mensah Otchere has resigned from the position.

It is unclear why Dr. Otchere, who was appointed last week – March 27, 2017 –  by President Akufo-Addo,  left the post, but Otecfmghana.com gathers that Dr Addai-Mensah met President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday at the Flagstaff House, where the issues of his disagreements, radio commentary and social media postings were discussed.

Dr Addai-Mensah reportedly explained that he stands by all those comments and postings and therefore said, if his appointment was going to be problematic, then he would decline it.

Sources say the Presidency was being compelled to revoke his appointment by party members because of some harsh comments he allegedly made about the governing party while they were in opposition.

The former acting Dean of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences at the KNUST  was reportedly invited by the president over the claims  and urged to be cautious of his utterances.

He, however, decided to leave the post after meeting the President.

The development followed criticisms by New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters that, Dr Addai-Mensah was someone who did not believe that Nana Akufo-Addo could have led the party to win Election 2016.

He is said to have expressed a number of public disagreements over Nana Addo’s leadership, and that of the NPP’s national executives prior to the elections.

There have been a myriad of criticisms by NPP supporters, since his appointment was announced last week.

On social media, screen shots of some his statements in 2014, 2015 and 2016 indicating his disagreements and criticisms of the NPP’s leadership have been re-shared a number of times since his appointment was announced.

The Assin Central Member of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Agyapong for instance in a radio interview on Hello FM, said that Dr Addai-Mensah was someone who openly indicated that he did not believe in Nana Addo.

He said even though Addai-Mensah claimed he was an NPP man, when he appeared on radio, he professed to be neutral, and exhibited his disbelief in Nana Addo.

To the NPP supporters, Dr Addai-Mensah who is a regular panelist on a number of radio programmes and host of weekly political talk program ”Kejetia” on Otec fm in Kumasi, on a number of occasions, used “harsh words” to describe the NPP leadership.