Struggling to mend cracks in his party ahead of the 2016 general elections, flag bearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo have had his effort compounded following renew intense pressure on him to speak to string of corruption scandals that have hit his party.
The pressures on the NPP flag bearer has been heightened as a result of his self-professed anti-corruption advocacy and much vaunted mantra of being “too old to steal Ghana’s money when elected president”. Nana Akufo-Addo is also on record to have trumpeted that his government would have no room for corrupt party officials “If your goal in coming into government is to enrich yourself, then don’t come. Go to the private sector. Public service is going to be exactly that; public service!”
Aside been engulfed by the unending infighting which is threatening the survival of the largest opposition party ahead of next year’s general election, some operatives of the NPP have for some time now been reported embroiled in fraud and corruption.
The Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service is currently investigating two National Executives of the party for alleged act of corruption involving a supposed secret account at ECOBANK.
As if the party, (whose flag bearer and functionaries have variously tagged officials of the Mahama-led National Democratic Congress administration as filthy corrupt and thereby unfit to govern) has been destined to remain enmeshed in one scandal after the other, it’s Member of Parliament for Effutu constituency, Alex Afenyo Markin was recently reported to have screwed GH¢250,000 from ADB to drop a suit he (Markin) and his client, an NPP MP, brought against the bank.
An audio tape recording which had a voice believed to be Afenyo-Markins’ was heard discussing with a childhood friend, Bonzoh, how he could make GH¢1,000.000.00 from the ADB’s Initial Public Offer has since gone viral on social and mainstream media.
What has also ignited the pressure on Nana Akufo-Addo to speak to the two issues since it broke out in the media, is the alleged involvement of some NPP big shots who are also close confidants of the twice defeated presidential candidate.
Although he has not publicly spoken on the two supposed corruption scandals except to say NPP activists should stop discussing internal matters on radio, handlers of Nana Akufo-Addo, perhaps, to portray how the NPP flag bearer is bent on fighting corrupt practices, were reported in the media to have stated that Akufo Addo had summoned Afenyo Markin at his Nima residence for questioning over the alleged ADB bribery scandal.
Reports reaching The aL-hAJJ indicate that some NPP kingpins are piling pressure on Nana Akufo-Addo to openly distance himself from the corruption scandals that have rocked the party, especially “when he has consistently told Ghanaians that he is not corrupt and will never be corrupt.”
A party insider recently told The aL-hAJJ, “we have all come to believe that Nana Akufo-Addo is not corrupt…but you see, Ghanaians will only take this statement serious when you back your words with deed. If you claim you are not corrupt, but those around you are perceived as corrupt, then you have not done anything…it is even more worrying when you say you are not corrupt but when those around you are most often alleged to be involved in corrupt practices, only for you to turn a blind eye to it as though nothing had happened.”
This paper has also been informed that when the issue of the supposed secret account at ECOBANK was first raised at the NPP’s National Executive Committee meeting, Nana Akufo-Addo kicked against plans to investigate those linked to the scandal.
However, he was said to have cave in after some influential party elders insisted those involve in the deal be probed in order to save the public image of the party from being battered, especially when Nana Akufo-Addo himself continue to accuse the Mahama government and its officials as corrupt.
“Nana Akufo-Addo cannot dodge these scandals, he must speak to them because it will have a dent on his image if he decides to keep quite…these scandals, if not handled properly, can affect our chances in 2016. Already, we are facing internal problems, he must deal with these issues as soon as possible,” a senior member of the NPP who disclosed this to The aL-hAJJ in an interview on condition of anonymity noted.
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