Albert Kan Dapaah, Minister National Security
The Ghanaian government has officially acknowledged a meeting with Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Convenor for the #FixTheCountry movement, but has strongly denied allegations of offering him and his group a substantial sum of $1 million, along with government job offers, to hush their street activism.
The meeting with Oliver garnered attention after rumours circulated about a significant financial transaction. Government officials swiftly responded to clarify the situation.
Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, following his release from detention along with 48 others, held a press conference on September 22 in which he claimed that a government offer, including money and appointments, was made during a secret meeting with National Security Minister Albert Kan Dapaah. He alleged that these incentives were offered to persuade them to cease their activism and prevent further protests.
“While I was in the UK, the National Security Minister called and invited me for a sit-down. The government offered to pay for my flight in order to meet here in Ghana”.
“This was something that was never disclosed to the public”, he said, “but we met at a safe house for us to stop our activism,” Mr Barker-Vormawor claimed.
“This was way before we started the first #FixTheCountry demonstration”.
“We were offered not only money but appointments; and if we agreed to stop this, we were going to be free, but the most important thing was not to bring citizens onto the streets,” he narrated.
The Ghanaian government, represented by the Ministry of National Security, has strongly refuted these claims. In an official statement, they stated, “While it is acknowledged that the Ministers for National Security and Finance, along with other relevant stakeholders, engaged the convenors of the Fix the Country Movement in 2021 to listen to their concerns, it must be stated emphatically that no offer of money or appointment was made to persuade the group to end its ‘activism.’ The allegations made by Oliver Barker-Vormawor are thus false, unfounded, and a calculated attempt to mislead Ghanaians.”
Challenging Oliver Barker-Vormawor to produce any alleged tape recording that substantiates his claims, the Ministry’s statement declared, “This Ministry, therefore, challenges him to produce the alleged recording of the said inducement.”
Oliver Barker-Vormawor has strongly stood by his claims, expressing his readiness to furnish voice recordings as evidence to support his allegations. However, he has conditioned this willingness on the condition that a credible media outlet is willing to verify and share the audio with the public. In response to the Ministry of National Security’s press release, he questioned, “Is there a media organisation prepared to authenticate Kan Dapaah’s voice and release the complete audio to the public domain?
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