Andrea Pizziconi, the CEO of Africa Integras, has released a statement to say Prof Ebenezer Oduro-Owusu never harassed her.
“Surely, you are aware of the difference of headlines and the article’s substance, the latter of which accurately reflects my previous statement,” Andrea Pizziconi said responded to Prof Oduro-Owusu’s reaction.
Prof Ebenezer Oduro-Owusu vehemently fought off the understanding that Andrea Pizziconi’s comments created – that he sexually harassed the businesswoman.
He told Joy News Thursday that Andrea Pizziconi’s allegations are frivolous.
According to him, Andrea Pizziconi is bitter because he put her contract with the country’s premier university on hold.
“You just have to treat this with the contempt that it deserves...personally, I will describe her as somebody who is bitter and extremely angry,” he said.
Also, speaking on Newsnight on Joy FM, Ms Pizziconi said she only sought to project misogynistic statements the Vice-Chancellor made against her in a previous tweet.
She also accused the media of blowing her earlier comments out of proportion.
Read Andrea’s full response below
Professor:
I agree that you never harassed me. Nor did I ever say as much. Surely, you are aware of the difference of headlines and the article’s substance, the latter of which accurately reflects my previous statement. Of course, I requested that we meet alone to discuss the project at least once during the various stages of the two years when we tried to help you remedy your willful default on the project. We are business people. I expect, as business pad-nets, it is quite the common protocol for the two highest decision makers to meet and have a straight talk about the issues on the table. It seems you may have thought that I wanted to meet you alone for the devilish reasons that you suggest and that you implied that day in the council meeting (with the former VC present rather than myself) when you suggested that I used my womanly prowess rather than my brain and unique expertise in university development to close this monumental project. Indeed, you have passionately and bizarrely insinuated these allegations (despite my cordial silence) through your many blasphemous press releases and meetings focused almost exclusively on questioning my credibility including embarking on an EOCO investigation against myself and the former VC to attempt to prove that anything other than the merits of the project’s vast benefits were at the heart of the decision to advance the project into construction. These efforts have yielded not a shred of evidence that any stakeholder has acted in any untoward way to execute the project. There is, however, the obvious fact of my credibility that the buildings (and the tens of millions of dollars in investment they represent) are there on the ground for anyone to inspect. In shod, I delivered on my obligations for the project. It was you who did not.
Furthermore, if that is your thinking to imply that I had some desire to influence you in any other way than with merits of the facts of the project’s benefits, this is precisely why I made my statement. The issues of sex for grades and the dismissal of a significant development partner because the company happens to be led by a “far too pretty…” CEO is related. It is long overdue that women are treated as serious business people (or serious students in the case of sex for grades) and not bodies of sex to be exploited or dismissed. Surely, you have met many businessmen one-on-one over the years. There is nothing inappropriate by such a request. In fact, it was offered as a gesture of respect to allow you to save face, as you seemed to struggle to grasp the major elements of what is admittedly a complex project. This became clear after the many misleading statements you’ve made about the rent through the years. In fact, what I do recall are the dozen trips I made to Accra when you refused to receive me in any capacity only to finally hold one public meeting at which you remarked that I should not “…worry my [pretty] little head about the project”. I hope, at least, you do not deny those remarks, as they were made in front of others and I repeated them immediately to many stakeholders at the time who can confirm as much. They were so shockingly dismissive in light of the high stakes losses UG was facing at the time if the project terminated.
Pls see my response to articles quoting the VC denying my earlier remarks on SM. To be clear, I never accused him of harassment. Rather than chase me around a table, he refused to INVITE me to the table dismissing me instead as just a "pretty face". Related issues, of course... pic.twitter.com/nNrcMa02Vw
— Drea Pizziconi (@dreapizziconi) October 10, 2019
Andrea’s previous tweet and the timing
Andrea Pizziconi had tweeted that the BBC Africa Eye’s ‘Sex for grade’ documentary which implicated two lecturers of the university for sexually harassing students resonates deeply with her.
She wrote that her company Africa Integras led a $64mn infrastructure investment at UG which was defaulted upon by the current VC.
Africa Integras, the Investment arm of The Christie Company, serves as advisor and investor in education infrastructure projects across Africa.
“He confidently declared as much publicly at a UG Council meeting in August 2017 suggesting the contract was invalid as it was signed under duress in a hotel room between his predecessor and myself. Nothing could be further from the truth and in fact of all my dealing with UG and in Ghana, it was this VC who made me most uncomfortable when he repeatedly declined to work with me to save the project but instead said ‘I was far too pretty to worry my little head about the project while declaring turn around everyone I want to give her a proper hug’. So, I know well what pressure such women are under to compromise their dignity at the University of Ghana,” she wrote.
The timing of the tweet got some of her followers to think that she was alleging that she had been sexually harassed.
Read Full StoryBreaking my silence on #universityofghana amidst this scandal & the VC's attacks on me. Swipe to read. UG students: this affects us all. We'll advocate until there's change. #girlsfirstfinance launches this Fri the 11th. Sign up @ https://t.co/qIQXXvzSmR #africaintegras @BBCNews https://t.co/1pq6C2ZdDH pic.twitter.com/ZP9DgNxsmX
— Drea Pizziconi (@dreapizziconi) October 7, 2019
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