The euphoria surrounding the appointment of a new Board and the Chief Executive Officer for Asante Kotoko may just burst into flames with reports that there is raging conflict in the camp of the Porcupine Warriors.
An unimpeachable source has told Ghanaweb that the CEO, Nana Yaw Amponsah has considered resigning and so has the Board Chairman, Dr Kwame Kyei and his Vice, Mr Jude Arthur.
It would be recalled that at the unveiling of Nana Yaw Amponsah, the Board of Directors claimed the astute administrator had their trust, backing and the free hands to run club. But the opposite seems to be the case.
According to a deep throat source, the posture of the Board has put the club on a tangent that could cause the club to spiral into the wilderness for another decade.
The Board is said to have taken joy in duplicating the work of the CEO since his appointment with more than 10 board meetings held since their appointment.
They (Board) have gone ahead to institute management committees within the Board who are running affairs on the blind side of Nana Yaw Amponsah.
The source who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “I’m picking strong signals and I’m afraid the CEO may resign in the coming days to allow the board to run the club the way they want.”
It is understood that a section of the Board Members have formed a habit of granting interviews about what they intend to do in their personal capacities for the club, and are outdoing each other to keep the spotlight individually.
Recently, reports were suggesting that there was a boardroom bust-up between Dr Kofi Abban and CEO, Nana Yaw Amponsah on a similar incident where the CEO was not happy about the board member promising to establish a Kotoko owned TV station without recourse.
The source indicated that the Adako Jachie Training Complex which was meant to start two weeks ago to allow completion in time for the resumption of football has stalled due to disagreement between the CEO and the board.
Nana Yaw Amponsah is said to have negotiated a good deal with the engineers but the Board went behind him to engage the engineers on a different plan for the facility.
The source explained that Kotoko was losing its transfer targets because instead of the Board providing money for the CEO, to execute their transfer agenda, they are rather engaging in player transfer negotiations themselves.
A section of the board has also formed a recruitment committee to duplicate the work of the CEO.
Apparently, what broke the camels back was that, according to the source, “last week in respect of Kotoko’s participation in the CAF Champions League, the Board at their last meeting held in Accra, decided to participate based on the case made by the CEO.
“However, a few days after the Board meeting, the Board attempted to rescind their decision because according to them, a radio pundit had made a case against why the team should not compete in Africa and the board had bought into his arguments to rescind their decision. Just like that.
“It only took the said pundit to go back on the radio to make a case for why Kotoko needs to participate in Africa after speaking to the CEO, where he claims, Amponsah made six solid arguments which convinced him to rescind his earlier argument and invariably the Board to back their CEO’s suggestion again.”
Some Board members, according to the source are considering resigning based on what they consider to be a hijack by the “rich Accra caucus.”
It is understood that a coup was made to render current Chairman Dr Kwame Kyei redundant by the creation of sub-committees which he was not made a member of any.
“The Accra Caucus are using these sub-committees to run the show at the blind side of the Board Chairman and the CEO. Dr Kyei also threatened to resign and is telling his close allies that his decision is imminent”.
Vice-Chairman of the Board Mr Jude Arthur has refused to attend meetings due to what he calls ‘lack of proper corporate governance being exhibited by members. The experienced Board Chairman of Ghana Commercial Bank has refused to attend what can be termed as pub-board meetings where a few members meet to drink, make merry and convert same into board meetings”.
The source claimed that those Board members without deep pockets have been sidelined, despite their rich knowledge of the game while “the money men” make all the footballing decisions.
“The poor members were openly told they don’t have the resources, hence their views do not matter and that has also created a big crack in the Board room,” the source alleged.