Agyenim Boateng Throws Down The Gauntlet...Dares The NPP

Deputy Minister of Tourism, James Agyenim Boateng has stridently debunked claims and assertions by members of the opposition New Patriotic Party that he nearly caused a national bloodbath during the 2008 General Elections by inciting NDC youth to besiege the offices of the Electoral Commission (EC) because there were alleged attempts to doctor electoral figures. The former host of Radio Gold�s Morning Show was emphatic in his denial saying there was no �iota of truth� in the allegations that he was at the helms of affairs during a live programme on the Larterbiokorshie-based radio station that deliberately stirred the blood of NDC youth with the aim of instigating them to perpetrate violence against the EC. Speaking on Asempa FM, he dared anyone who has evidence to the contrary to provide or else cease associating his name with the unfortunate scenes during the 2008 presidential run-off. The NPP MP for Manhyia, Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, had earlier in his remarks on the same station, asserted that an early Inter Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting could go a long way to assuage stakeholders who have expressed concern over the introduction of the biometric register and the lack of a verification process for the 2012 elections. He also stated that it could in some aspects prevent the inciting of the masses by some media outlets to destabilize the peace of the country just like James Agyenim Boateng and others tried doing during the 2008 general elections. The EC headquarters in Accra was besieged on December 30th by hundreds of NDC supporters protesting the alleged manipulation of figures and who demanded their candidate be declared the winner. Ahead of a news conference scheduled for 1200GMT to release the official results, armed police and soldiers backed by water cannon trucks and an armoured personnel carrier, kept the protesters who had thronged the EC premises courtesy a Radio Gold broadcast, behind barricades. Clearly unhappy at the allegation, the Deputy Minister for Tourism dared anyone including the NPP MP who still believed he might have had something to do with the events of that day to back the allegation with evidence. �What hurts me most is that sometimes you have very responsible people making this allegation. If you look at someone like Napo, I think if the matter was of keen interest to him, he should have asked me when I appeared before Parliament�s Appointment Committee for me to answer,� he said. "The people who make these issues against me, I am yet to hear any of them put anything out about me. There is no truth in it and I have not made any irresponsible broadcast�I don�t even recall Radio Gold, carrying out any irresponsible broadcast. I believe those who want to go on this tangent everyday should face me with a broadcast content of what I said. I have not done any such thing and I expect that the people who make this case against me would be responsible enough by backing it up with the necessary proof.�