The Presidential Senior Advisor, Yaw Osafo Maafo has rendered an unqualified apology for a tribal comment he made about the Asantes.
According to the former Senior Minister, having served a country he loves for decades, creating ethnocentric divisions is not a thing he would seek for the country or the NPP.
The apology follows a recent conversation with some of his colleagues relating to the roles of various ethnic groups in the pre-independence struggle of the country.
In the said leaked audio, Mr Osafo Marfo was heard saying that the struggle for independence was led by the Akyems and that the Asantes played fewer roles.
However, the public has condemned the comment with a pressure group calling itself Bantama Youth Association in the Ashanti Region asking the former to apologise.
Yaw Osafo Marfo in a press release dated Friday, July 1, 2022, said the comment was not motivated to create ethnic tensions between the Akyems and the Asantes.
“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,” the statement contains.
He insisted further that “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.”
He emphasised that “beyond party politics, I will continue to share a common objective and vision for the country,” adding that, “even if the pathway to getting there might differ.”
Below is the full statement
