Insults, Retraction, Bribery: A Plus is the biggest loose talker of the week

When an individual is elected by the electorate to represent their interests at the highest level of government — Parliament — they are expected to conduct themselves with decorum and exercise restraint in their speech, particularly in the public domain.

This expectation stems from the fact that as parliamentarians and lawmakers, they are regarded as honorable individuals entrusted with the responsibility and dignity of serving in such esteemed positions of national leadership, on behalf of the people.

However, in the course of their duties, heightened emotions can sometimes cloud judgment, leading some lawmakers to act in ways that contradict the standards and integrity expected of their office — resorting, in the heat of the moment, to languages and behaviors that fall short of the dignity associated with their esteemed positions, becoming what GhanaWeb terms as ‘loose talkers’.

Such is the case of the Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central, Kwame Asare Obeng, who, over the past week, has found himself at the center of widespread media attention and public discourses.

The first-time lawmaker has come under intense scrutiny from various sectors of the country for his remarks and perceived lack of decorum, particularly in his public comments directed at the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine.

What happened

Kwame Asare Obeng, popularly known as A Plus, reportedly accused the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, of bribery and corruption.

According to what was deemed as a post from A Plus, the minister allegedly sought an amount of GH¢500,000 to bribe the Appointments Committee of Parliament.

The accusation followed a rebuttal by Dr Ayine during a press conference on April 30, 2025, where he denied the initial allegations made by A Plus concerning corruption-related matters.

A Plus stated, “No! That is not true. My information is that you went to beg for 500 thousand cedis, claiming you were going to use it to bribe the Appointment Committee of Parliament. And for your information, you’re not the only one. If you are an old (sic), I'll reset your brain (sic), man!”

U-turn and retraction

Following intense backlash, A Plus has since issued an unqualified apology to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, over the derogatory remarks that were made against him.

Clarifying his position on the matter, A Plus, as he is popularly known, acknowledged that the language he used in response to the Attorney General’s comments, which were made at a press conference, were inappropriate and did not reflect the decorum expected of someone in his position as a Member of Parliament.

“Regarding my own response on Facebook to the Attorney General's comments at the press conference, I admit that I authored that particular post. Upon reflection, I acknowledge that the tone and choice of words I used were inappropriate.

“As a Member of Parliament, a younger colleague, and a junior in the House, I sincerely apologise to Hon Dr Ayine, the general public, the NDC party, and Parliament, and fully retract those words. I believe I could have made my point in a more respectful and constructive manner,” he said on Facebook on May 3, 2025.

A Plus also expressed deep remorse over the incident, adding that he has since deleted the post containing the insulting remarks directed at the Attorney General as a gesture of accountability and to demonstrate that he has taken full responsibility for his actions.

“I take full responsibility for my words and actions. As a gesture of remorse and respect, I have deleted the post in question — something I rarely do,” he stated.

Impersonation

Another 'loose talk' A Plus made was his claim that a recent post attributing allegations of corruption involving the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, did not originate from him, but was instead the work of an impersonator.

According to him, the post in question originated from an X (formerly Twitter) account that falsely used his personal details and displayed a verification badge, thereby misleading the public into believing it was his official account.

He emphasised that he did not author the statement and has never made any such accusations against the Attorney General, describing the situation as a misunderstanding between him and the Attorney General.

“I wish to formally address the recent misunderstanding between myself and my respected senior colleague, Hon Dr Dominic Ayine. To begin with, it is important to clarify that this matter revolves around two separate social media posts: A Twitter (X) post from a fake account impersonating me, which claimed that the Hon Attorney General is a thief and corrupt. My subsequent response on Facebook, after the Attorney General appeared to rely on the content of that fake account during his press conference to address related questions,” parts of his statement posted on his official Facebook account on Saturday, May 3, 2025, read.

The lawmaker further clarified that he has never made any such serious allegations of corruption against Dr Ayine, stressing that the claims attributed to him are entirely false and were instead made by an impersonator.

“First and foremost, I want to state, without any ambiguity, that I have never — at any point — accused the Hon Attorney General, Dr Ayine, of being corrupt or a thief. That claim is false and misleading. The statements currently in circulation originated from a fraudulent Twitter (X) account that is impersonating me. Although the account bears my name, photograph, and even a verification badge, it is not under my control. As the public is now aware, verification on X can be obtained through a paid subscription, making impersonation easier,” his statement continued.

Affectionately known as A Plus, the lawmaker added that his original remarks — referencing a sanitation levy and seemingly distorted by the impersonator — are still available on his official Facebook account, where he personally authored them.

He has, therefore, urged the general public to disregard the impersonator account and the false statements being attributed to him.

Taking bribe

One would have expected that, following what he described as a period of sober reflection, the lawmaker would adopt a more measured tone and refocus his energy on serving his constituents.

However, that appears not to be the case, as he has once again stirred controversies with another provocative statement.

A Plus, in a live TV interview, openly admitted that he had received a substantial sum of money from Joseph Siaw, owner of the Jospong Group of Companies, to halt a campaign against the interests of one of his companies.

According to A Plus, Siaw compensated him financially to end his campaign for the decentralisation of waste management in Ghana, which would impact the operations of Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

He added that his decision to launch the campaign was in retaliation to Paul Adom-Otchere, Host of Good Evening Ghana, who had defamed him on Metro TV, a media station also owned by Siaw.

“So, this man takes my photo, puts it on TV, saying, ‘A Plus, you have gone to take GH₵250,000…’ He said a lot, and this money he is talking about—you say you are NPP, and the money is being given to parliamentarians, so why are you not talking about the NPP parliamentarians? Okay, so A Plus will not say anything. I have grown, but I am a very bad guy. When he did that, I didn’t respond; I just left him. Then on Monday, I started ‘Waste Management Must Be Decentralised’ because Zoomlion owns Metro TV. So, if you use Metro TV to do that, Paul, you don’t have anything of value that I will attack apart from your wife.

“I started ‘Waste Management Must Be Decentralised’ because I wanted to attack his boss, Zoomlion, and I spent time on it. You see where all the Youth Employment issues are heading? Yes, I will have time. I will deal with you. His boss called me; Zoomlion called me so many times, but I wasn’t picking up his calls. Everyone in this country was calling me, saying Zoomlion wants to talk to you, but I wasn’t picking up. Paul, ask your boss what happened when he met me. I won’t sue you for defamation. Have you noticed I stopped the waste management campaign? Because his boss paid me for his misbehavior on Metro TV,” he added.

According to A Plus, Joseph Siaw, who is also an Elder of the Church of Pentecost, paid him “good money to stop writing about him on social media.”

He further warned Paul Adom-Otchere to stop defaming him, adding; “I have taken the damages from his boss, and Paul, if you watch this show and decide to start again, I will tell you about two of your friends. The amount they will pay, you will be so disappointed in your life.”

His actions have been widely condemned by concerned Ghanaians as unbecoming of a lawmaker, with many arguing that such conduct undermines both his personal integrity and the dignity of the office he holds.

MAG/AE

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