Abubakari Yakubu, popularly known as Baba Amando, the Communications Officer of the Sunyani East Constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has described former President John Dramani Mahama as a dangerously corrupt person.
The former president, who is the presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), cannot be exonerated by any defense by his party, assigns, or associates, he said.
Speaking to Dr. Ren on Rainbow Radio 92.4 FM (United Kingdom) via Zoom, Baba Amando referenced allegations captured in a publication by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), one of the largest investigative journalism organisations in the world.
The report alleged that some members of the erstwhile John Dramani Mahama administration acquired properties worth $8,409,400 in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), under suspicious circumstances.
OCCRP’s investigation further alleged that the appointees are part of individuals identified as alleged criminals, individuals facing sanctions, and political figures accused of corruption who have owned properties in Dubai’s high-rises and villas, which serve as safe havens for such individuals due in part to the secrecy the country’s real estate sector affords.
The Special Aide to Mahama, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, later issued a statement indicating that there was an attempt by the NPP to smear Mahama’s name with the issue, although the report did mention his name.
Bawah Mogtari described the story as a “syndicated” effort to distract the public and malign Mahama’s reputation.
“The recent NPP syndicated story, deviously using Mahama’s name as a distraction, is just another ploy to divert attention from the alarming state capture that is unfolding under this administration.
“The looting of state lands and properties has reached unprecedented levels and has been a topic of discussion in the past few weeks. This syndicated story is, therefore, just another diversion to distract the public’s attention.”
“No amount of loose and imagined associations from Ben Ephson and his NPP friends can overturn this immutable fact that Mahama stands vindicated from all their mudslinging.”
But reacting to this, Baba Amando posited that the Special Aide was only doing her job to defend her boss but failed to react to the core issue of the report.
He said the report goes to confirm the long-held view that Mr. Mahama is corrupt, adding that the NPP had no hand in the publication.
“The fact of the matter is that I can say on authority without mincing words that when you talk of the most dangerous and corrupt person, it is John Dramani Mahama, and I will give you the reasons why. Mahama is dangerously corrupt. The latest report by OCCRP has disclosed that some members of the erstwhile John Dramani Mahama administration acquired properties worth $8,409,400 in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), under suspicious circumstances. This is not something sponsored by the NPP. We had no hand in it. So we cannot be blamed for peddling falsehoods about Mahama being corrupt. His aide, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, was just doing her job to defend her boss. She, however, failed to respond to the core issues. She was engaging in optics and dances around the issues,” he added.
Meanwhile, he has also challenged the opposition party to point to the single social intervention programme the party has ever initiated in Ghana.
He claimed the NDC has never initiated any social intervention programmes compared to the NPP, which has initiated several programmes like the free SHS, free maternal care, the National Health Insurance Scheme, and school feeding, among others.
When his attention was drawn by the host that the NDC may have introduced such programmemes, including the GETFund, he quickly responded, saying the GETFund is a policy and not a social intervention programme.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
