Posted on:
www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw
Owusu
Saturday, December
03, 2016
New
Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says the Northern Regional Chairman of the party, Daniel Bugri
Naabu, will return the alleged car and money bribe given to him (Naabu) by
President John Dramani Mahama and his brother, Ibrahim Mahama.
According to Nana Akufo-Addo, Bugri Naabu accepted the bribe
from President Mahama as a proof of his (Naabu’s) claim.
“He
himself has decided what he is going to do with it…that he will return the
money, that is my understanding; that is what he has told me. That he is going
to return the money. He kept the money for proof; but now that the matter has
come out he intends to return the money. He told me the story about this
matter before it became public,” Nana Addo told a number of radio stations
yesterday.
The
NPP had dropped the bombshell at a press conference in Accra, alleging that the
president and his brother (Ibrahim) tried to bribe Bugri Naabu with a brand new
V6 Mitsubishi Pajero, GH¢500,000 with additional promise of a brand new V8 Toyota
Land Cruiser and GH¢3.3 million for him to resign from the party and paint Nana
Akufo-Addo as a dictator and “an anti-Northerner.”
“Around
the same time, Ibrahim Mahama had tried to convince Bugri with money to leave
the NPP to become a chief after Daniel Bugri Naabu’s uncle died, but Bugri
refused,” the NPP had said.
Confirmation
Mr
Bugri Naabu subsequently confirmed the attempted bribe by President Mahama and
his brother.
He
stated that “I don’t need bribe. If I needed bribe I would have pocketed the
money they gave me and the cars and the promise of other money which is
supposed to come. I would have done it.”
He
claimed he was already wealthy when President Mahama was a student.
“When
I started buying cars Mahama was a student at Ghana College (Ghanasco). He
himself told me that I was having some cars and other things, and today you are
presenting GH¢500,000 to me and a car. As for me I don’t need anybody to give
me money.
“If
John Mahama wanted to give me money, he would have given me money when he
became the vice president. Is today that he knows that I need money? Today that
you are failing you are calling me to come. I won’t come,” Bugri Naabu told
journalists in Tamale.
Kyebi As
Capital
Nana Akufo-Addo also rubbished vile propaganda by the ruling
National Democratic Congress (NDC) elements that he intends to relocate Ghana’s
capital from Accra to his hometown, Kyebi in the Eastern Region, when he wins
the December 7 election.
He described the allegation as ‘malicious’ and said all that the
Mahama-led NDC government has been doing as the general election approaches is
to divide Ghanaians along ethnic lines.
“They say when I come to power I will relocate the capital of Ghana
to my hometown. What is the capital going to do in Kyebi? I have no intention
in doing that at all,” Nana Akufo-Addo told Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM in Accra yesterday, adding that
“it is a pity that this is the level of engagement they want to bring to
Ghanaians. It’s like they don’t respect Ghanaians. What will make me, within a
short period of presidency, move the capital from Accra to Kyebi because I am
from there?”
The NPP leader took time to explain many policies the party intends
to implement under his leadership when it wins the crucial contest on Wednesday,
saying that job creation is his priority.
Smear Campaign
The NDC has been floating emails they claim are coming from Nana
Akufo-Addo in which there are plans to relocate the capital to Kyebi where he
was once a Member of Parliament (MP), but the NPP standard bearer said the
speculations were false. “I don’t even send emails.”
“The capital of Ghana was brought to Accra from Cape Coast over 100
years ago. I’m shocked that someone will say that I’ll move the capital from
Accra to Kyebi. This spurious claim is not different from what was leveled
against President Kufuor by his detractors prior to the 2000 election, that
he’ll take the sea from Accra to Kumasi in his home region when he wins power.
It is petty that those we are contesting in this election will descend to this
level of engagement. It is as though we don’t respect Ghanaians,” Nana
recounted.
He wondered, “How on earth can someone say such a thing? How can it
happen that in the short while that I become president, I’ll ignore this huge
development in Accra and move the capital to Kyebi, because I came from the
town.
“I think some people don’t understand that you come onto the scene
to work for the progress of the country. If you are from Bole, does that mean
you must only care about people from Bole?”
He also rubbished the claim that he was going to raise the status of
the Okyenhene when he becomes president, saying, “I don’t understand why
someone will come out with such malicious allegations; that I will elevate the
position of Okyenhene just because of politics.
“I’m not trying to come to power to develop only Kyebi and make Okyenhene
more powerful like it’s being alleged. My goal is to develop the entire country
and introduce policies and programmes that will enhance the living conditions
of Ghanaians.”
He said that the smear campaign against him by President Mahama and
his party would never make him lose focus on helping to secure a better future for
the country.
Police
Selectivity
Nana Akufo-Addo berated the selective law enforcement being
exhibited by the security agencies, particularly the police administration, and
said it does not aid the consolidation of democracy in Ghana.
He cited instances where a cabinet minister’s brother openly declared
that he has been killing people in Asunafo in the Brong-Ahafo Region but the
police had not even invited him to establish the veracity of the claim.
He said the NPP is committed to ensuring a peaceful election but stressed
that the party is going to be vigilant so that it is not shortchanged in the
process.
Threat
He said that the president’s lack of vision with its attendant
incompetence had unleashed bad governance on Ghanaians and killing the dreams
of many people, especially the youth.
“Ghana is sitting on gold but because of bad governance by President
Mahama, Ghanaians are suffering. His leadership style is a threat to the future
of this country,” Nana Addo observed.
Show Boy
He said when given the mandate to lead Ghana, he would like to be
remembered as a president who worked hard to bring prosperity to the country
because a future NPP government will commit itself to total economic development,
shaped by better policies and programmes.
“My aim is to create jobs in the city and across the country. People
will laud me for that rather than changing the capital to my hometown. I will
be nicknamed the ‘Show boy’ for that. That is what I want to do,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment