President John Mahama did not give reasons as to why he appointed Victoria Hammah as deputy minister and would definitely not give reason why he relieved her off  the post, Deputy Information, Murtala Mohammed has said.

The Deputy Information Minister insisted it is within the power of the president to appoint and to disappoint, as he had no obligation to give reasons for his action.

His comments to Joy News are in response to calls from a section of the general public for the president to explain why the deputy Communications Minister, Victoria Hammah was sacked

Even though no official explanation was given for the dismissal, it is believed to be linked to a leaked tape in which the deputy minister is heard making some comments critics describe as embarrassing to the government.

An anti-graft campaigner Daniel Bartidam told Joy News that Ghanaians must demand explanation from the president in respect of the dismissal.

He said given the circumstances and the speculations that preceded the dismissal, the president owes it a responsibility to give Ghanaians reasons why he sacked the deputy Minister.

"The dismissal alone is not enough", he stressed.

But the Deputy Information Minister said the campaign being waged for the president to give reasons for dismissing his appointee was needless.

Murtala Mohammed also took a swipe at the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, for suggesting that the Chief Justice must probe the verdict of the election petition.

Citing portions of the leaked tape in which the sacked deputy minister alluded to roles played by a minister of state, Nana Oye Lithur for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to win the presidential election petition,  Owusu Afriyie said the judiciary owes it a responsibility to investigate the role played by Oye Lithur prior to the final judgement of the case.

But Muntala Mohammed disagreed with the NPP scribe.

"Is Sir John serious?" he queried, adding, "my four years old son will not draw the conclusions [Sir John] was drawing."

He said hearsays on leaked tapes are no basis to demand judicial investigations and Sir John, a lawyer of many years standing should know.