Last Saturday may turn out as one of the darkest days for Miss Inna Mariam Patty, organiser of the Miss Ghana pageant, when she walked into a veritable minefield with only a calabash for a helmet.
More than one week after Miss Patty was said to have ignored all telephone calls from the media, the former Miss Ghana turned organiser, appeared on Peace FM’s Entertainment Review as well as Joy FM’s Rythm A-Z programmes to answer questions on an obvious crisis that had hit the annual competition.
Perhaps, she should have been more prepared because the pretty, usually confident woman walked away from both programmes not only without convincing anyone about the many allegations that had been thrown at the pageant but in many cases, made the allegations even more incriminating.
Among the issues discussed was whether Miss Ghana 2013, Giussepina Baafi, was indeed stripped of her title as the organisers’ press statement suggested.
As it turned out, Miss Patty had to eat her words and admit that Giussepina herself resigned after efforts to convince her to sign a new and perhaps unfavourable contract failed.
Again, an initial position put out by the Miss Ghana organisers that there was no physical confrontation between Miss Patty’s mother who happens to be a director of the company, and Giussepina as had been reported in the media had to be revised.
According to Miss Patty, the physical melee which resulted in some items in the Miss Ghana house being vandalised was caused by neighbours who reportedly forced their way into the house in their effort to calm tempers between Giussepina and Miss Patty’s mother.
One after another, the organisers’ counter arguments in relation to specific allegations regarding some rather unconventional dealings in the organisation of the Miss Ghana pageant fell flat.
When Entertainment Review host, Akwasi Aboagye, asked why it was that both the first and second runners-up had resigned their positions, Miss Patty and her company attempted to refute the claim.
However, when the second runner-up called into the programme to confirm her resignation which she attributed to the rather unfulfilling nature of her role, Miss Patty was forced to recant.
The most damning revelation that the former Miss Ghana runner-up made was that during the preliminary stages of the competition, the contestants were asked to raise a minimum of GH¢10, 000 for the pageant in return for a place among the top 10 in the competition.
Again, Miss Patty could not convincingly explain away why such a demand and more so, why a 10 percent commission that was promised successful fundraisers was not honoured.
Exclusive Events Ghana, organisers of the Miss Ghana pageant, in a letter dated July 3 and signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Samuel Bokorvi, relieved the reigning queen, Miss Giuseppina Nana Akua Baafi, of her role as Miss Ghana 2013 Ambassador.
According to the statement that was copied to the media, Miss Baafi didn’t conduct herself well and her actions brought the brand into disrepute and public ridicule.
“We regret however, that your conduct has not been consistent with your commitment to these values that you subscribed to, on becoming the Miss Ghana Ambassador at your crowning.”
The letter further implored her “to hand over all properties belonging to Exclusive Events Ghana Limited in your possession within five (5) working days of receipt of this notice”.
“Also, you are advised not to hold yourself or represent the MISS GHANA brand at any forum and please be informed that Management of Exclusive Events Ghana limited reserves to itself the rights to institute legal proceedings against you or any person holding herself out as such,” part of the statement read.
Giuseppina herself has not come out to make a statement.
Source: Graphic online