Mahama government never paid salaries to First and Second Ladies – Ato Forson.

Former Deputy Finance Minister under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Cassiel Ato Forson, has rubbished reports asserting that like the incumbent government, their predecessors paid salaries to the then First and Second Ladies.

Reacting to a recent document purportedly released by the finance ministry, Mr Ato Forson described the figures put out as fake, urging them to clear the air on the matter.

He maintained that as an official in charge of Government Budget at the Finance Ministry the National Democratic Congress never paid any salaries to Mrs Lordina Mahama and Matilda Amissah Arthur as being alleged by the purported document.

In a tweet sighted by GhanaWeb, the former deputy finance minister and MP for Ajumako-Enyan-​Esiam posted the document highlighting the alleged payments and labelled it as Fake News.

Read his tweet below:

“As deputy minister of finance responsible for budget from April 2016 to Jan 2017, I can state categorically that the Ministry NEVER PAID these purported salaries to both the First and Second ladies. I urge the Ministry of Finance to issue a statement to clear the air! #FakeNews.”

At the time GhanaWeb filed this report, the Finance Ministry had not commented or reacted to the statement in public domain.

In a related development, General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu has charged Mrs Lordina Mahama, wife of former president John Mahama to refund all monies paid to her as salaries and allowances between January 2009 and June 2021.

Speaking in an interview with Paa Kwesi Schandorf on TV Africa on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, John Boadu challenged the former First Lady to follow the steps taken by Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

“Schandorf, let me say this emphatically. Former President Mahama’s wife, Lordina Mahama, must, as a matter of urgency, refund all monies paid to her since January 2017 till now. Those she received as far back as 2009 should also be refunded. The monies she has received from that time till now would amount to GHC3.2 million.”