Paul Adom-Otchere’s claim on Togbe Afede’s Council of State meeting attendance completely false

The host of Good Evening Ghana on Metro TV, Paul Adom-Otchere, claimed on his show on June 7, 2022, that former Council of State member, Togbe Afede XIV, attended only 39 meetings during his four-year tenure as a member.

He said out of 242 meetings held by the Council in 48 months, Togbe Afede attended only 39, representing 16% of the total number of meetings held.

Mr. Adom-Otchere cited a response to an RTI request he received from the Council of State as his source of information.

Fact-Check Ghana has verified the claims and presents the findings below.

 Claim: “In 48months, they held 242 meetings. Of those 242 meetings, the distinguished Togbe Afede, attended 39 of them and that constitutes 16% of the meetings that Togbe attended.”

Verdict: False

Explanation: Information we obtained from the Council of State through a right to information request shows that Togbe Afede XIV attended 57 meetings out of 125 meetings he was expected to attend.

Source: Council of State

Togbe Afede XIV, who is the paramount Chief of Asogli State, was a member of the  Economy and Sustainable Development Initiative Committee (ESDIC) during the four-year term.

Source: Council of State

The plenary held 114 meetings from 2017-2020, while the ESDIC held 11 meetings from 2017-2020, making a total of 125 meetings.

Source: Council of State

Togbe Afede XIV attended 47 of the plenary meetings and 10 of the ESDIC meetings making a total of 57 meetings.

This is 45.6% and contrary to Paul Adom-Otchere’s claim that he attended 16% of the meetings.