Nicholas Holgate said Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid had asked for him to go, but Mr Javid has not commented.

Mr Holgate said last week’s fire in North Kensington, in which at least 79 people died, was “heart-breaking” but his presence would be a “distraction”.

Residents had condemned the initial relief effort as “absolute chaos”.

In a statement issued by the council on Wednesday, Mr Holgate, who has been in post since 2014, said it was the “highest priority” of the council to help families affected by the fire.

He said the communities and local government secretary had on Tuesday “required the leader of the council to seek my resignation”.

‘Grief stricken’

Mr Holgate said: “Despite my wish to have continued, in very challenging circumstances, to lead on the executive responsibilities of the council, I have decided that it is better to step down from my role, once an appropriate successor has been appointed.

“There is a huge amount still to do for the victims of the fire, requiring the full attention of this council and many others. If I stayed in post, my presence would be a distraction.”

He added: “Whilst the public inquiry and other investigations will get to the truth of the causes of this tragedy and the management of its aftermath, I strongly believe that councillors and officers have always endeavoured to have the interests of our residents at heart and will continue to do so.”

Nicholas Paget-Brown, the leader of the council, said it was with “regret” that he had accepted Mr Holgate’s resignation.

He said: “The council has been grief stricken by the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire and has sought to provide the greatest level of support we can to victims.

“That is a huge challenge and Nicholas has led from the front in seeking to do this.”

The Department for Communities and Local Government would not comment on the resignation.

Since the fire on 14 June, some Grenfell Tower families have been staying in hotels and B&Bs, and there were concerns that more permanent housing would be offered in other parts of the country.

And residents have said that Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council provided little support or information.

Government staff and other London boroughs were drafted in to help with relief efforts in the wake of the fire, with humanitarian assistance being provided by the west London borough of Ealing.

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Source: BBC

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Mr. Boakye Agyarko, who was answering questions before Parliament’s Appointments Committee, explained that he had never at any point held a US citizenship, although he stayed in that country for 25 years.

“I went to the US as a political refugee and qualified as such. In a matter of two years, I was able to upgrade my status from a refugee to that of a resident permit holder. This is because I had a number of equity situations namely; my sister could apply for me to hold a green card as well as my mother, who had become a naturalized American citizen. Throughout the period, I stayed in America on a Green card, and at no point in time did I become a citizen of the United States.”

When asked by committee member Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, whether he’s able to the return to the United State, he responded in the affirmative.

Narrating PNDC experience

Explaining a two-year gap on his CV between 1984 and 1986, Mr. Agyarko said “I was employed by Management and Investment Consultants in 1980 after my national service. In June 1983, for those who will recall, there was a mutiny led by lance corporal Halidu Giwa. I was picked up by the Military and sent to the Airforce Station and put against the wall and shot. I almost lost my life, and through the intervention of Monsieur Le Veloire and my two sisters who are seated behind me, I was able to leave Ghana through London to France, and then settled in the United States under very difficult circumstances. So for that period, I was close to being an invalid; and I didn’t do any work. Even though I left officially in 1983, Management and Investment Consultants wrote to me officially saying that as at the end of 1984 I was no longer employed with them, so my employment with them ended in 1984, and the next two years I was going through a series of surgeries and recuperation.”

The committee member and MP for North Tongu, who solicited the information from the nominee, sympathized with him.

“My sympathies for a rather touching story,” Mr. Okudzeto said.

About Boakye Agyarko

Boakye Agyarko is 60 years old. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Ghana, Legon; an Advanced Professional Certificate in Banking from the American Institute of Banking and an MBA in Financial Economics from the Pace University, New York.

He held a Vice President position at the Bank of New York, in New York, and in over 20 years at the Bank, he worked at senior levels in various departments, including Operations Management and Analysis, Product Development, Global Network Managements, International Banking and Asset Management and the Y2K Management Group.

His responsibilities in these various departments and positions included international trade finance, loan syndications, asset securitization and structured finance.
He is a member of the American Economic Association, and an Associate of the American Institute of Bankers.

He served as the National Campaign Manager of the New Patriotic Party for the 2012 Elections and served as Policy Advisor for the President’s 2016 electioneering campaign.

He is a Consultant to Capital Economics and Investments, a start-up economic analysis, and investments group in Accra, Ghana.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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