Former Board Chair of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Paul Adom-Otchere, has revisited the controversy surrounding the much-discussed Christmas tree decorations at the Kotoka International Airport, describing the uproar as politically motivated and blown out of proportion.
“Yeah, that Christmas tree, that was quite a much ado about nothing. It was really political,” he said in a one-on-one interview on the AM Show with Good Evening Ghana.
Adom-Otchere explained that although the issue eventually made its way to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the ruling from the body cleared him and the board of any wrongdoing.
“Eventually, the matter went to CHRAJ, and I appeared before them. CHRAJ gave a ruling that, we believe, completely exonerated us,” he noted.
However, the journalist and former board chair expressed dissatisfaction with CHRAJ’s decision not to allow the proceedings to be filmed, arguing that it created room for misrepresentation of the outcome.
“The only disappointment I had with CHRAJ was that when I went in, I told them I wanted this filmed. It was a public hearing, and I didn’t want anyone misrepresenting the ruling. They declined, and so when the ruling came and people were picking parts of it, I told them this was exactly why I wanted it filmed,” he said.
The “Christmas tree” debate arose after the Ghana Airports Company Limited was accused of spending extravagant sums on festive decorations at the Kotoka International Airport during Adom-Otchere’s tenure as board chair. The matter sparked public debate and political commentary, prompting CHRAJ to investigate.
Adom-Otchere maintained that the allegations were without merit and insisted the entire controversy was fueled by political opponents rather than evidence of mismanagement or misconduct.
