Paramount Chief and the Agbogbomefia of Asogli, Togbe Afede XIV has said that the GH¢365,000 paid to him as ex-gratia was not meant to trap him as is widely speculated.
According to him, he felt ‘uncomfortable’ with the extra payment for his services as a Council of State member which he described as ‘inappropriate’.
In a press statement on Monday, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State noted that he does not think his work merited the payment of such a colossal sum as ex-gratia, in addition to the salary he enjoyed from what was effectively a part-time job.
“I did not think the payment was made to trap me, as is being speculated. I believe it was paid to everybody who served on the Council of State. However, I thought that extra payment was inappropriate for a short, effectively part-time work, for which I received a monthly salary and was entitled to other privileges. So, I was very uncomfortable with it”, Togbe Afede clarified.
He added that “I want to add that my rejection of the payment was consistent with my general abhorrence of the payment of huge Ex Gratia and other outrageous benefits to people who have by their own volition offered to serve our poor country,”
“After weeks of trying, I obtained advice on how to refund inappropriate payments to the State, and on March 4, 2022, I made the refund into the Controller & Accountant General’s Department Suspense Account at the Bank of Ghana.”
Click the link below to read the full statement:
