The President of Imani Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has stated that Senior Vice President, Kofi Bentil remains an integral part of the organisation, despite publicly expressing his support for the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Mr Cudjoe stressed Mr Bentil’s significance within the policy think tank, stating that he remains an essential component of the organisation’s operations and mission.
In a recent Facebook post on Sunday, February 11, Mr. Cudjoe emphasised that while individual viewpoints on national matters are acknowledged, they are subordinate to the collective mission of the organisation.
He underscored the importance of independent analysis and critique within an environment that values freedom and liberty.
Mr Cudjoe reassured that personal affiliations will not compromise IMANI Africa’s commitment to impartial evaluation and discussion of crucial issues.
Thus, despite Mr Bentil’s support for a specific political figure, his integral role within the organisation remains unaffected.
“Our individual wishes and preferences however expressed or communicated will always be overridden by the collective mandate we have carved for the organisation, in putting out objective, independent analyses and critiques on many issues within an environment that guarantees individual freedom and liberty.”
“In this light, Mr. Kofi Bentil, whose personal political views were expressed about a preference for a candidate in this year’s election, remains an integral part of IMANI,” he posted.
https://www.facebook.com/franklin.cudjoe/posts/10161259896567349?ref=embed_post
In essence, his post highlights the organisation’s dedication to its core principles of impartiality and independent analysis despite individual members’ political affiliations.
This follows an earlier Facebook post by Kofi Bentil urging Ghanaians to offer Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia a fair and impartial opportunity to showcase his capabilities, while highlighting Bawumia’s lack of prior presidential experience.
He stressed the importance of evaluating both candidates, drawing a comparison with former President John Mahama.
However, Mr Bentil’s stance sparked criticism, particularly from individuals affiliated with the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who labeled him as conflicted.
Moreover, Mr Bentil revealed that he has faced threats to his life and businesses since publicly endorsing Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the 2024 NPP flagbearer.
Despite these challenges, Mr Bentil expressed determination to continue expressing his opinions without fear.
He shared these developments on JoyNews on Saturday, February 10, underscoring the significance of the issues he faced throughout the week.
“People were meeting on attacking me and there were efforts afoot. You hear a lot of these things and I am not saying this is NDC, but there are all kinds of surrogates and people who feel upset about it.
“I don’t have a problem with debate and discourse no matter how vigorous. I block a lot of people on Facebook but I do that only when you insult me. But if you want to debate me, fine…people are planning to attack me with people saying when NDC comes into office, they will collapse my business.”
