GNPC Boss Fights KIA Protocol Officials over VVIP Treatment

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Opoku-Ahweneeh Danquah, last Monday, April 24, 2023, was allegedly involved in a serious fracas with the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) security and protocol officials for denying him access to the VVIP Lounge.

The state agency CEO, who was returning from a two-week trip abroad, would not understand why the protocol officials would not allow him to be picked up from the tarmac of the airport.

The explanation from the protocol officers that he had not gone through the right process and that the GNPC’s protocol Officer, who was also at the airport to pick him up, did not do as expected would simply not calm Mr. Danquah down.

Sources among the KIA security and protocol officials have it that the GNPC’s protocol officer was at the lounge for his CEO, felt he must be granted access, but he was told to deal with the Foreign Affairs on his request because the lounge was partially closed.

The sources said that per the laid-down procedure, there should be a 96-hour notification and clearance from the Foreign Affairs before the VVIP Lounge could be accessed, something the GNPC protocol officer did not do.

According to the sources, because of the partial closure of the lounge, a system called “Commercially Important Person (CIP)” was in place, but the GNPC boss would simply not use that system.

The sources said that the KIA Protocol officers insisted on the right thing being done because they did not want to have issues with Foreign Affairs, adding that they will always insist on officials going through the laid-down process.

Meanwhile, the incident at KIA, which has gotten to some top officials at GNPC, has sparked murmurings within the corridors of the state entity.

First is the $1,700 a day per diem for Mr. Danquah’s foreign trips, as there are questions over who approved it and his salary in general.
Second is the issue of the GNPC boss’s refusal to meet Parliament to answer questions relating to his per diem and salary.

It has been established that Parliament has for sometime been trying to engage the GNPC CEO over matters relating to how his per diem and salary were fixed, but has not been successful in getting him.

Then there is the issue of Mr. Danquah’s confirmation by the Public Services Commission (PSC), as some GNPC officials are claiming that the PSC had problems with their boss’s performance during his interview.

There are claims within GNPC that Mr. Danquah’s performance was below expectation and that the PSC had raised issues with the Presidency on that score.

More To Come!