The Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu, John Abdulai Jinapor, has shed light on the circumstances that reportedly led to Samuel Dubik Mahama's exit from his role as Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

In a September 26, 2024 interview on Metro TV's Good Morning Ghana, Jinapor, who had previously hinted at Mahama's 'removal' on social media, suggested that the former ECG boss was essentially pressured to resign. The reason? He stood firm on ensuring that the government, under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, adhered to proper procedures for the procurement of crude oil for electricity generation.

Jinapor explained that Mahama opposed a process championed by Ken Ofori-Atta, the former Minister of Finance and now Senior Advisor to the President on the Economy, which put Ofori-Atta in charge of crude oil procurement—bypassing the established protocols.

According to Jinapor, Dubik Mahama’s insistence on doing things by the book, despite pressure from a presidential family member, ultimately led to his downfall.

"I posted about five or ten minutes before the announcement came out because I had gotten information that some people related to the president insisted on procuring light crude oil in a certain manner, which Dubik, the MD for ECG, resisted... Now, demand has tripped for the supply of gas and so there's a deficit of about 60 mm scf. So, they have to procure light crude oil at about $40 million every month. That translates to about $180 million by the time this year ends. But that is not even the problem. The key problem is who procures the light crude oil. We've maintained that VRA, being the lead agency in the generation sector, should rather be procuring the light crude oil for the other entities.

"But when Ken Ofori-Atta was minister, he insisted that the procurement be done directly under his instructions and that ECG be instructed to pay directly without recourse to the Cash Waterfall mechanism. And you and I recall that PURC has been up in arms with ECG because when they do that, they no longer adhere to the principle of the Cash Waterfall mechanism. And so recently, Dubik has tried to exercise his authority and to do what is right and proper," the MP said.

He added, "That has led to the decision to kick him out. He was determined to do what is proper, what is right, and restore the Cash Waterfall mechanism such that if anybody wanted to buy fuel, it would reflect in the Cash Waterfall mechanism, and we would know those behind the procurement of fuel so that we could track it. But he was asked to exit and unfortunately, he exited. And that is why he cited personal reasons for his decision to exit. But the painful thing is that by the end of the year, we have a debt of about $480 million on account of light crude oil," he said.

About the ECG boss resignation:

In a letter addressed to the Board Chairman of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Alexander Afenyo-Markin, Samuel Dubik Mahama formally announced his resignation as Managing Director of ECG.

Mahama, who was appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, assumed his role on May 16, 2022. Prior to his appointment, he had served as a non-executive director at ECG and brought with him a wealth of experience from both the private and public sectors.