The Vicar General of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese, Rev. Father Gabriel Atidoo, has clarified his statement on the fight against corruption. This comes days after A1 Radio reported that the man of God had said he had given up on the fight against corruption.
He was reported to have said this during the launch of a programme dubbed: ‘A clean environment in corruption-free society,” held in Bolgatanga by the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church.
Accompanied by two leaders of the church to A1 Radio to clarify his statement Rev. Atidoo said he was reported out of context.
“The first thing is that, the title of this article: Vicar General gives up on fight against corruption is not accurate because the things that I said on that day, there is nothing that shows that I have given up on corruption. In actual fact, at the end of it, I said that we are people of faith, so if we are people of faith, I asked the question, are we supposed to throw our hands up in the air? The journalist has quoted me in that context as if I had said that we should throw our hands up in the air and give up.”
According to Rev. Atidoo, he could not in one breathe ask the people of faith to pray against corruption and in another breathe, give up in the fight against a corruption.
“We wouldn’t be launching that programme if we were to have lost hope in the fight against corruption. We wouldn’t be putting in that programme as a way forward to revive the prayer against corruption if we have lost faith in the fight against corruption. And even in that particular context, I said that it is left to us the individuals.
Why I brought the issue of politics is that, if we are going to rely on politicians to fight against corruption, we are fighting a losing battle. But, if we as individuals, we take it up and we make sure that within my context, one, that I work on a clean environment and two, that clean environment also include corruption-free environment, then we will be going somewhere.”
He was also not happy that the picture of President Akufo-Addo was used to accompany the story. His reason, he contended was that, it was as though he had made the president his subject of discussion which he did not.
Source:A1Radioonline/101.1FM/Ghana
