Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah
Tension is running high within the hierarchy of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) following the decision of the former National Chairman Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo to take on the current National Chairman of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia over allegations of ‘dirty campaign’ during the party’s recent national executives elections.
According to sources within the party, Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo has expressed his dissatisfaction with the rough tactics used by the current Chairman in his campaign to unseat him.
He mentioned among them the deliberate electioneering campaign of lies, vilification and character assassination waged against his person.
One of the key accusations made against him, as recalled in a recent petition to the Council of Elders of the party and gleaned by DAILY GUIDE, “is being called a “mole” in the NDC for our arch opponents, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), and purportedly hobnobbing with them, thereby compromising his position as National Chairman.
“That, quite stunningly, in order to reinforce the lie narrative that I was hobnobbing and also involved in some kind of collusion with the NPP, Hon Asiedu Nketia, in a viral video, insinuated I had introduced a Company allegedly owned by Mr. Sammy Crabbe, a former National Vice-Chairman of NPP for consideration to create an App for the registration of, and collection of dues from NDC members.
“I wish to state emphatically for the records that I took no part and had no hand in the process leading up to the selection of the eventual Company that was awarded the Contract for the NDC membership registration and dues collection project,” excerpts of the petition read.
Another allegation mentioned in the petition is that he had sold the anticipated victory of the 2020 presidential elections to the NPP; thus, causing the defeat of the NDC in the last elections.
“That, I single-handedly appointed the Directors of Elections and IT of the Party; and that in doing so, I neglected the advice of the former President, H.E John Dramani Mahama, who had apparently instructed a delay to the two specific appointments until the flagbearer elections were held in March 2019. According to Hon. Asiedu Nketia, this incident prevented the Party from compiling elections results in 2020 and led to our loss in the election petition which was heard at the Supreme Court of Ghana in the year 2021. This is absolutely false.
“The truth of the matter is that nominations were put before the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) which discussed and provisionally approved the list before submitting same to the National Executive Committee (NEC) for final approval. Upon approval by NEC, the General Secretary issued and signed appointment letters to the persons so appointed.
“So, if I may ask at what point can it be said that I single-handedly appointed those officers?” the petition read.
“That I took the National Women’s Organiser, Hon Dr. Hannah Bissiw to an NPP bigwig (businesswoman) for money. This is also false and I challenge him to provide incontrovertible evidence.
“That, in the company of the then General Secretary, Hon. Asiedu Nketia, I went to a businessman who is sympathetic to the NPP to negotiate to sell the position of the Speakership of Parliament in the run-up to the selection of the Speaker of the 8th Parliament of the Republic of Ghana in the night of January 6, 2021. This is also false,” he said.
He was of the view that Mr. Asiedu Nketia’s adoption of tribal politics in his campaign of naked lies were meant to destroy his integrity because he is an Akyem, thereby tagging him to be NPP.
He also noted that it is false comments that by virtue of being an Akyem, he is a member of the “Akyem mafia” or aligned with the NPP. “In fact, Prof Danso Boafo is a royal of the Akyem State and yet a true member of the NDC. So how can it be said that by virtue of being an Akyem, I am aligned with the NPP?”
Touching on the appointment of Rojo Mettle-Nunoo and Kpessa Whyte as representatives of the NDC at the collation centre otherwise known as ‘Strongroom’, Mr. Ofosu Ampofo said in the petition that he was never consulted not to talk of resisting the change of the aforementioned duo from the EC office.
The former Chairman was of a strong conviction that the ‘grand mischievous accusations’ sought to portray him as a mole in the party who has been leaking information to the NPP.
On the accounts of the above, Mr. Ofosu-Ampofo is requesting the party’s Council of Elders to investigate the allegations, vilifications, and falsehoods peddled against him and establish the veracity or otherwise of each of them and take appropriate action.
Consequently, he has demanded that Mr. Asiedu Nketia should prove all his allegations levelled against him with full evidence as his failure to fulfil that obligation, retract the allegations and apologise unreservedly he will be compelled to take other action necessary to redeem his reputation.
The Council of Elders, according to sources, is yet to take a decision on the explosive petition.
By Vincent Kubi