Go Away! … Disabled Graduates Refuse To Hand Over Petition To Presidential Aide

A tense scene unfolded at the Jubilee House yesterday, when a group of unemployed graduates with disabilities declined to present a petition to a presidential aide designated to receive it on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama

The Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disabilities insisted that the petition, which is expected to highlight concerns over unemployment and the plight of graduates living with disabilities, should be received by a more senior government official.

Presidential aide, Dr Samuel Ayeh, who had been designated to receive the document, said he was representing the President and respected the coalition’s decision not to hand over the petition to him.

“If you think that the President has sent me to receive a petition on his behalf and, in your opinion, I’m a nobody and because of that you will not give me your petition, well, that’s the position you can have and I respect that,” Dr Ayeh said.

He maintained that his position at the Office of the President made him a senior member of government and that he was at the Jubilee House specifically to receive the petition on behalf of the President.

“Just as you have rightfully intimated, you are speaking on behalf of your colleagues, who have resolved that they wish the petition was delivered to a senior most government official,” he said.

“As I stand here, I’m also a senior member of the government at the Office of the President and I’m standing in for the President.”

Dr Ayeh told the group that it was at liberty to wait until an official whom its members considered appropriate became available to receive the document.

“You can wait till a point in time where you think you’ve met the right person to deliver, you have that opportunity,” he said.

He nonetheless conveyed the President’s goodwill to the group.

“Let me convey the President’s best wishes to you for the opportunity and for coming,” Dr Ayeh added.

 

Coalition stands its ground

Convener of the Coalition, Gilbert Boateng, told the media the group had submitted several petitions in the past but had yet to see any meaningful action on its concerns.

He said the Coalition was therefore seeking a meeting with a senior government official with the authority to take decisive action on the issues raised.

“We want to meet somebody higher in the government hierarchy than Dr Samuel Ayeh. No disrespect to Dr Ayeh. We want to go beyond Dr Ayeh because when we came here the first time and Madam Shamima Muslim came, we thought our issues were going to be resolved, but at the end of the day, we realised the issues were beyond her and she could not do anything,” he said.

Mr Boateng said the Coalition’s immediate objective was therefore to engage the Chief of Staff, the Vice President or the President directly.

“So on this day, our mission is to meet the Chief of Staff, the Vice President or the President,” he added.

 

Echoes of NPP ‘Democracy Under Attack’demo

Yesterday’s incident comes barely two weeks after a similar disagreement over the level of representation at the Jubilee House when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its allied parties presented a petition to the Presidency.

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin criticised the government after Presidential Staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah was assigned to receive the opposition parties’ petition.

MrAfenyo-Markin argued that sending a single representative rather than a higher-ranking government official amounted to disrespect for the opposition and trivialised the issues contained in the petition.

The latest incident, therefore, raises questions about the expectations of petitioners regarding who should receive petitions on behalf of the Presidency, particularly when groups believe their concerns warrant the attention of a senior government official.

 

 

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