COCOBOD: “Our CEO Is Not Related to Akufo-Addo to Be Carrying Chairs”
The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has strongly denied allegations made by Dennis Miracles Aboagye, Director of Communications for the Bawumia 2024 campaign team, suggesting that the Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Randy Abbey, has been touring cocoa farms with a personal leather chair.
In a swift response to the claim, Sam Jerome, Head of Corporate Communications at COCOBOD, dismissed the statement as false, mischievous, and politically motivated.
Speaking in a video published by Citi FM, Mr. Jerome refuted the assertion, describing it as part of an ongoing campaign to distract the public from pressing national issues.
“The CEO is not going around with any leather chair. He is not Akufo-Addo’s relative to be carrying chairs about,” Jerome said pointedly, referencing past criticisms of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s public events where luxurious chairs were reportedly transported ahead of him.
Jerome emphasized that the new COCOBOD leadership, under Dr. Randy Abbey, is focused on engaging directly with cocoa farmers to understand their concerns and restore trust in the sector, which has been hit by challenges such as delayed payments, low producer prices, and mismanagement under the previous administration.
The remarks from Dennis Miracles Aboagye were made during an interview on Accra-based Channel One TV on Wednesday, May 7. Aboagye accused the current COCOBOD CEO of “moving from one cocoa farm to another with this leather chair,” claiming that instead of delivering on campaign promises, he is lamenting about problems inherited from his predecessors.
“So you listen to the COCOBOD CEO, and the farmers tell him, ‘You promised us GH¢6,000 per bag and not GH¢3,000. Why haven’t you done it?’ And then he says, ‘There’s a mess at COCOBOD.’ What were the indicators you based that promise on?” Aboagye queried.
But the Communications Directorate of COCOBOD says the claim lacks credibility and is meant to sow doubt among cocoa farmers. Jerome urged political communicators to refrain from spreading “fabricated images and falsehoods” that only deepen public mistrust.
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“The current CEO is going around with a listening ear, not a leather chair,” he added.
However, COCOBOD insists that these narratives are deliberate distortions designed to discredit the efforts of the new leadership. Jerome urged political communicators to be truthful and focus on facts that affect the lives of cocoa farmers.
This rebuttal comes at a time when the cocoa sector became a key talking point in the lead-up to the 2024 general elections, with both major political parties seeking to score points over its performance. Yet, as COCOBOD’s response shows, the battle for public trust may rest on facts, not fiction.
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