The former Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo has apologized over his unsavory tribal comment that the people of Ashanti made no contribution towards Ghana’s fight for independence.
The former Oda Member of Parliament in a secret tape recording was heard making some ethnocentric comments.
In the said tape, which went viral, Mr. Osarfo Maafo, during a meeting with the delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Eastern Region, questioned the contribution of the Ashanti people while touting the Akyem tribe as having led the fight for independence.
Reacting to the ethnocentric comments made, the former Senior Minister, in a press statement said, “Despite the nature and circumstances of the discussion, I concede that I erred, and that these comments caused offence and well-deserved criticism. I must state that the comment was never intended to stir up ethnic tensions between Akyems and Asantes. Ethnic tension is not a thing I want for our country or the NPP.
“I therefore wish to offer my unqualified and sincere apologies for these comments.” He noted
Statement by Hon. Yaw Osafo-Maafo
- My attention has been drawn to circulations of excerpts of a conversation I had recently with some colleagues relating to the roles of various ethnic groups in the pre-independence struggle.
- Despite the nature and circumstances of the discussion, I concede that I erred, and that these comments caused offence and well-deserved criticism. I must state that the comment was never intended to stir up ethnic tensions between Akyems and Asantes. Ethnic tension is not a thing I want for our country or the NPP.
- I therefore wish to offer my unqualified and sincere apologies for these comments.
- For my many years of public service, creating divisions is not a thing I will seek to do for a country that I love and spent many decades serving as a public officer officer. My preoccupation during my long career in public service has been to serve the whole of the country as one unit and not in part.
- Beyond party politics, I will continue to share a common objective and vision for the country, even if the pathway to getting there might differ.
- May the good Lord continue to bless and keep us together as a nation. A unity that our leaders both past and present, have knitted together through their sweat and toll into what we call Ghana.
Thank You
Hon. Yaw Osafo-Maafo
