Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo
The 1st National Vice Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo believes the Founder and Leader of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Pastor Mensa Otabil "should not have superintended over" the suspected malfeasance and potentially incriminating transactions that led to the collapse of Capital Bank. While Pastor Otabil says his position as Board Chairman was not an executive one and therefore, was not involved in the day-to-day management of the bank, the NDC stalwart says he cannot be absolved from blame in the circumstances leading to the collapse of the bank on August 14, 2017. The renowned man of God has been at the receiving end of verbal abuse on social media lately, following revelations that managers of the defunct bank diverted some GH¢620million the Central Bank had given them to stop the downward slide of the then-struggling financial entity. Handlers of the bank are alleged to have diverted the money into buying properties and re-routing part back to the central bank to create another bank – the Sovereign Bank. Since the collapse of Capital and Sovereign Banks, several state institutions -including the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) – have been working to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of what happened and who was responsible for what; for which reason Dr. Otabil has been invited to respond to queries. In reaction to the hullabaloo, the inspirational preacher and former Board Chairman of the defunct bank, in a press release stated that he accepted to be Board Chairman in a bid to help strengthen a promising Ghanaian enterprise that had potential but also challenges. Speaking to the issue during a panel discussion on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Wednesday, Ofosu-Ampofo said Pastor Otabil as the leadership of the board, had the mandate of ensuring that the bank functioned effectively and efficiently. "The board cannot absolve itself…that is why I am surprised at what Pastor Mensa Otabil said. He is somebody all of us were looking up to as a transformational leader; and so I am very disappointed. I expected him to rise above this. He shouldn’t have superintended over this," he stated. Source: peacefmonline.com
