Charlotte Osei, the chairperson of the electoral commission, has responded to a claim by Kennedy Agyapong, the member of parliament for Assin Central, to the effect that she got her job by giving out sexual favours.
Agyapong made the claim ahead of the 2016 general elections, drawing condemnation from many Ghanaians.
In an interaction on Accra-based Joy FM as part of activities to mark International Women’s Day, Madam Osei said she did not pay too much attention to Agyapong’s remark.
“My sense of self should not come from somebody who does not know me. If the person thinks I got my job through sexual favours, surely, there are other more rewarding and less difficult jobs I could use that sexual favours for.
“And in any case, this is man who is sleeping with other women, so why didn’t he give the job to those women,” she said.
Kennedy Agyapong
Madam Osei said the accusation that she got her appointment by selling her body was one of the many issues successful women face from men who feel threatened by them.
She said such men would do everything within their power to pull successful women down.
“So they are going to throw everything at you to just to get you out of that space. Once you recognise that, then you recognize those comments for the distractions that they are and you just focus on doing what you have been called to do and to do an excellent job,” she said.
The EC boss said that the incendiary claim from Agyapong only strengthened her resolve to work harder and achieve success.
Instead of letting the insult get to her, Madam Osei said she drew strength from God and did only what she had been told by Him to do.
“That’s all that matters to me. If God tells me, ‘go and do this assignment’, I may not like the assignment, but I have to trust that there is a reason why I have been asked to do it. And also you believe that the person who has sent you, will empower you to do it,” she said.
