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Mr Samuel Abu Jinapor, a deputy Chief of Staff, has explained that President Akufo-Addo never considered or approached Professor Henrietta Mensah Bonsu, to take up the job of the chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) as speculated.

Clarifying, Mr Jinapor said Mrs Jean Mensa from day was President Akufo-Addo’s choice as replacement for Mrs Charlotte Osei, who was removed on grounds of incompetence and stated misbehavior.
   
“Some individuals have sought to make the claim or the suggestion that President Akufo-Addo did approach Professor Henrietta Mensah Bonsu to serve as the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, and that Prof Mensah Bonsu rejected the offer, on the grounds that the processes leading to the nomination of our Electoral Commission chairperson is tainted with fraud and that this is why we settled on Mrs Jean Mensa as the second choice," Mr Jinapor said via telephone whilst contributing to discussions on Joy FM on Saturday. 

“Let me state that I have been very much involved in processes, deliberations, consultations and all that to get us to a point of nomination of Madam Jean Mensa. Prof Henrietta Mensah Bonsu I can state that on authority that, never, and I repeat never has been approached by the President or any member of government as regards the possible nomination as chairperson of the Electoral Commission.”

“Infact it never even came up, her name never even popped up. The President from the very get go had been very settled on Mrs Jean Mensa, she’s been his first choice, she’s second choice and third choice. There’s never been any instance where Prof Henrietta Mensah Bonsu’s name ever came up,” he said.

Mr Jinapor added that, “Prof Mensah Bonsu is somebody I know quite well, me lecturer at the Faculty and also at the Graduate School, and she really is somebody who is a very competent woman of enormous integrity and indeed Akufo-Addo did nominate her to be appointed as a judge of the International Criminal Court because she is a woman of astute qualities and competence and integrity but the fact remains that she was never considered, she was never approached and her name never came.

Asked if she was above the job, Abu Jinapor said, “we never contemplated it.”