NANA DARES ADAKABRE

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has dared Neat Fm radio presenter Adakabre Frimpong-Manso to lodge a formal complaint to the police if he claims that he (Akufo-Addo) threatened his life.

“Threats against the life of a person are a criminal act and we would encourage Adakabre to lodge a formal complaint against Nana Akufo-Addo at the nearest police station, and subsequently the matter referred to the court of law,” the NPP said in a statement on behalf of Nana Akufo-Addo.

NPP Boycott

The party’s decision to boycott radio programmes hosted by Adakabre on Neat FM and Kwame Nkrumah Tikese of Okay FM - all belonging to the Despite Group - on the basis of bias, has apparently created a row between the party and Adakabre, who the party says has consistently denigrated its flagbearer for no apparent reason.

The Neat FM man, who had stints with Adom FM and Hot FM, made the allegation in an interview granted to Joy FM after the NPP’s decision was taken, claiming that Nana Akufo-Addo personally heaped abuses on him and also threatened his life; and insisted that he had since kept the threatening words on his mobile phone.

 “Nana Addo abused and threatened me. I was so sad and scared but I kept quiet because I didn’t want to be the fall guy through which something happens and they would say it is because of Adakabre so I kept quiet. I was afraid because…I was told to the face that ‘you will be killed’ at a specific date. I have all the evidence; I can substantiate them…I have everything on my phone. I have kept the phones and I would be willing to show it to anybody who wants to see them,” Adakabre, a former media coordinator for Alan Kyerematen’s campaign team, boasted on Joy Fm on Monday.

He said he had to tell his father who subsequently confronted Nana Addo in Kumasi.

When asked if he made any complaint to the police, he replied in the negative, raising questions about the credibility of the claim.

He said emphatically that Nana Akufo-Addo issued the threats in the presence of two of his (Adakabre’s) former colleagues at Adom FM but the two have all denied his claim.

Reaction

The NPP reacted to what it termed an attempt to tag its flagbearer as a violent person and said the party would not look on unconcerned for its flagbearer’s reputation to be tarnished unjustifiably by Adakabre and his cohorts.

“We would like to state emphatically, without any shred of doubt, that the statements made by Adakabre are completely false, unfounded and mischievously put out, all in the continuous attempts to tarnish the image of Nana Akufo-Addo and paint him as an intolerant and violent person,” the statement averred.

Propaganda Bandwagon

The statement, signed by a Deputy Communications Director, Anthony Abayifaa Karbo, said, “It is not surprising that a known Akufo-Addo hater like Adakabre would join this NDC-led propaganda bandwagon aimed at denting the image of Nana Akufo-Addo. Unable to defend their non-existent record of achievement and their abysmal management of the Ghanaian economy, which has brought untold hardships to the people of Ghana, the NDC and its minions have resorted to fruitless attempts to paint Nana Akufo-Addo black.”

Frequent Complaints

“Just as the NPP has complained time without number about the conduct of Adakabre Frimpong-Manso on his show on Neat FM, which has resulted in the party boycotting the latter’s show, Nana Akufo-Addo also expressed his displeasure about the treatment being meted out to him on a daily basis by Adakabre on his show in April 2014 at the residence of the late Alhaji Aliu Mahama in Tamale, when the pair met.

“This was not done in private, but in the full glare of other persons present at the time. Nana again confronted him at a press soiree in his home at Nima. At no point, in these discourses, did Nana Akufo-Addo make threats on the life of Adakabre Frimpong-Manso. Threats on the lives of people do not form part of Akufo-Addo’s politics,” according to the statement.

Ultimatum

“It is instructive to note that in Adakabre’s interview on Joy FM this morning, he claimed to have evidence on his phone about the threats Nana Akufo-Addo made against him and is prepared to ‘show it to anybody who wants to see.’

“We dare Adakabre to publish in full the evidence he claims to have on his phone which points to the fact that Akufo-Addo threatened him. If Adakabre fails to substantiate these accusations against Nana Akufo-Addo, we demand nothing short of a retraction of these baseless and false allegations and an unconditional apology to Nana Akufo-Addo,” the statement added.

Interesting Twist

In an interesting twist, Adakabre’s former Adom FM colleague, Gladys Arthur, known in media circles as Afia Pokua Vim Lady, has flatly denied that Nana Akufo-Addo ever threatened Adakabre in her presence as claimed.

According to Afia Pokua, who is a News Editor at Adom FM, she met Adakabre at Nana Akufo-Addo’s residence with his producer, Listowel Kwadwo Fordjour, and after being ushered to the meeting grounds by NPP Youth Organiser Sammy Awuku, the flagbearer started shaking hands with the media practitioners present at the event.

Public Ridicule

However, when Nana Addo got to Adakabre, he enquired why the radio presenter had chosen to expose him to public ridicule through publication of falsehood concerning him on commercial radio.

“Nana Addo asked Adakabre, ‘Why are you doing that to me…?’ He asked, ‘If I were your brother wouldn’t you have liked it? ….Why do you put me on public radio and disgrace me like that?’” Afia Pokua quoted Nana Akufo-Addo as questioning Adakabre at the event.

According to her, Nana Addo, who was least enthused about what Adakabre did to him on radio, questioned why he (Adakabre) failed to contact them for their version of the story in the newspaper about claim that he had urinated near a mosque at Damango during a visit to the Yagbonwura ahead of the 2012 polls.

The Gonja King and his elders even denied the allegation and summoned the person who claimed that Nana Addo urinated near the mosque.

Unfortunately for the mischief maker, Abubakari Rufai, he allegedly died later of urine retention.