After news broke of the resignation of Rockson Ayine Bukari from his position as Minister of State at the Office of the President in charge of Special Duties, following a discovery of a leaked tape attempting to bribe a journalist to suppress a story, many have said that he was forced by his appointing authority to step down in order to save the face of the government.

The leaked tape contained what was said to be a damning story against a Chinese mining company when he was serving as the Upper East Regional Minister

But making his first public statement on the matter in an interview Mr Bukari debunked the assertion that he was forced to vacate his post.

“I decided to resign to give His Excellency {President Akufo-Addo} the peace of mind to work. I did so on my own volition. Nobody forced me to resign. Nobody can force me to reign. I resigned on principle because I wanted to support my president.”

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Mr Bukari maintained that he was not corrupt but decided to leave his position where he was serving closely with the president; in order not to smear the personality of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo with the allegations of corruption levelled against him.

The former Upper East Regional Minister further indicated his willingness to patch-up the seemingly bad relationship between him and the Starr FM Upper East Regional Correspondent, whose work led to his resignation.

Describing him as a son, Mr Bukari said “If he calls me today to say ‘daddy, am sorry’, I will forgive him and bless him. I don’t hold anything against him.”

According to him, some people hate him because he stands for the truth; and that those who cared to understand his principles appreciate his leadership qualities.