Tensions are simmering at the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) following revelations that the newly announced position of Deputy Managing Director (DMD), now held by Obuobia Darko-Opoku, is not part of the company’s approved organisational structure.

Highly placed sources at GACL say the position does not officially exist in the company’s organogram, raising serious concerns about the legitimacy of the appointment. 

Insiders alleged that the current Managing Director, Mrs. Yvonne Nana Afriyie Opare, created the role without board approval to accommodate Mrs. Darko-Opoku — a move said to be part of a broader strategy to retain influence despite a change in government.

Ms. Opare, who openly supported the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its 2024 flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is reportedly seeking to consolidate her position at the helm of GACL under the new National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration. 

Sources claim that ahead of the 2024 elections, she convened a closed-door meeting at the luxury African Regency Hotel to rally staff support for the NPP candidate.

 That meeting, allegedly attended by then-campaign aide Sammy Awuku (now MP for Akuapem North), was described by insiders as a covert campaign strategy session.

This isn’t the first time GACL has faced controversy over the Deputy MD role. 

Under the previous NPP administration, Mr. Yaw Kwakwa was also appointed to the position before ascending to MD, despite union resistance based on the role’s absence from the official structure. 

Notably, Mr. Kwakwa had been a manager at GACL at the time.

Back then, union leaders — including Vice Chairman Christopher Fianu, Chairman Abdul-Issaka Bamba, and First Trustee Bright Dogbey — vocally opposed the move. 

However, those same union leaders have remained silent this time around. 

According to sources, the silence is due in part to recent promotions they received to acting managerial roles, despite the absence of a governing board.

Further deepening concerns, the MD is said to have violated a government-imposed travel ban by approving the overseas travel of some union members for training in Germany, reportedly as an incentive to secure their support for the disputed appointment.

The development has sparked calls for a formal investigation, with observers warning that politicisation and disregard for due process could undermine governance and morale at the state-owned company.

 It remains to be seen whether the Ministry of Transport or the incoming GACL board will address the issue in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the Director of Finance, Rev. Dr. John Okwesie Arthur and others have been fingered as leading an onslaught to create unnecessary tension at the GACL because of his stance against the massacre of the institutional memory of CACL.

More anon!