Tell Your $20m Denial Story To The Marines - AFAG To NDC

Pressure group, the Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) says the contrasting responses from some NDC stalwarts on the acquisition of a $20 million party headquarters in Accra only raises more questions than answers. AFAG says information it has obtained indicates the party is putting up the new edifice in Adabraka at a cost of 20 million dollars; however, interventions from various party executives at the national level have been contradictory. National Organiser of the NDC, Yaw Boateng Gyan had said he was unaware of any such project; while a deputy General Secretary, Kofi Adams was not forthcoming with a definite answer when contacted. However, the deputy organizer, Joshua Akamba who did not deny the fact that a project like that existed, said it was built with the party�s own funds. But these contradicting responses, AFAG say only leave room for more questions than answers. �It brings to the fore that there are more questions to the building there. We are still stuck to our facts; we want the NDC to state their source of funding. This denial and acceptance is not helping matters. They should not be throwing dust into the eyes of Ghanaians. What we are asking is that; where did the NDC raise that $20m to put up that structure�. �Even aside the documents we have, we have three functional executives of the NDC; Kofi Adams, the Deputy General Secretary, Yaw Boateng Gyan, who is the National Organiser and Solomon Nkansah, the Deputy Propaganda Secretary of the party, confirming that yes, indeed, the building belongs to them but we have bloated the figure, so why the sudden denial? It raises a lot of questions,� Opoku Davies, a leading member of AFAG intimated. He was speaking on the Big Bite on Xfm 95.1. According to him, even though there was nothing wrong with the NDC putting up the structure, it is prudent it remains transparent on the issue given that it is a party in power, adding, �what has suddenly changed with the NDC that a party that hitherto could not even raise money to pay rent and electricity bills, today, by virtue of the fact that they are in power, they have been able to pay $20m to a Chinese company to be able to put up that structure for them? I think there are answers; Ghanaians need to know what their monies are being used for�. He called on the media, the clergy and other civil society groups to push the ruling party for answers so the truth can be known. �If you have nothing to hide, why do you come out with conflicting responses? You first say the building belongs to you, but that we have bloated the figure, and now you are saying the building does not belong to you at all�You have a national organizer who confirms the news, you have $20m taken out from your account, and a whole organizer, deputy general secretary and a propaganda secretary are not aware? I think they should say this to the marines,� he said. Opoku Davies asserted that AFAG will hold a meeting on the way forward should the NDC fail to come up with the right answers.