I�m Ready To Assist Bagbin To Meet Prez Mahama

Presidential staffer, Dr. Clement Apaak says he is prepared to facilitate a one-on-one meeting between President John Mahama and former Majority Leader Alban Sumana Bagbin. According to him, the president, despite his tight schedules, is very accessible to anyone who wants to meet him. Dr. Apaak was reacting to claims by the former Majority Leader, Alban Bagbin that the president is inaccessible. Nadowli-Kaleo Member of Parliament who is also one of the �three wise men� in charge of government special projects last Friday said all attempts to meet President Mahama and offer private counsel has been futile. Alban Bagbin who has expressed frustration about his lack of access to the president said he will offer his advice in public. Speaking on Asempa FM�s Ekosii Sen programme Monday, Dr. Clement Apaak expressed shock at the Nadowli-Kaleo MP�s public criticism of the President. According to him, President Mahama is not averse to meeting anyone, let alone talk about ignoring his own �wise man� in government. �I don�t think the President will ever have problem meeting Bagbin knowing fully well the common history they have and how far they have come along,� he stated. Dr. Apaak indicated that the issues raised by the former Majority leader are quite dicey because he [Bagbin] as one of the wise men can always go and see the President as and when he wishes. He added that �if he [Bagbin] has had the boldness in stating his grievances publicly, I am sure he will have the change to properly explain himself to the President�. The presidential staffer noted that President Mahama is not worried about the public criticisms, because �as somebody who welcomes criticisms, - contributions and inputs from every Ghanaian - I don�t think the president is worried about it. He will take whatever has been said in good faith�. Dr. Apaak if he had known about the concerns of the Nadowli-Kaleo MP, he would have arranged the meeting. He said President Mahama cannot be blamed for the development because all his meetings are done by schedulers and that �even some of us working at the presidency need to schedule for meeting before meeting the President�. �It is not the case that the President is not willing to engage him [Bagbin], any high profile member of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC). I blame it on the system and how the schedules are done�. Dr. Clement Apaak called for a seize fire and urged all government appointees to bury their differences and be determined to help President Mahama succeed.