Freddie Blay
The Campaign Manager for acting National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sylvester Tetteh, has rubbished claims of vote-buying against Freddie Blay, saying they are born out of ignorance.
The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) called for investigations into the source of funding for the 275 buses distributed by Mr Blay to constituencies across the country ahead of the party’s National Delegates Congress.
Mr Freddie Blay promised to provide all 275 constituencies with a bus to be used for commercial purposes during the Congress in July.
The Head of Operations at the GII, Mary Addah, in an interview with Citi News, called on EOCO to investigate the move since it constitutes an attempt to buy votes ahead of the Congress.
“We are raising issues with any political office holder who is campaigning to be elected into office, promising the people to get them vehicles. Not just one, or two but 275 of them. We have issues with the legality of those type of promises. Whatever the case maybe. Whether it is his personal resources he is using or his gift from other cronies who might be funding his political party campaign.
“We have issues particularly because Freddie Blay has in the past been a Deputy Speaker of Parliament. He was a Member of Parliament. He is currently the acting Chairman of the NPP. He should know better and should not engage in enticing delegates to vote for him. That is purely vote buying and solicitation, which is wrong.”
But Mr Tetteh, in a rebuttal on Eyewitness News, however, insisted Ms Addo’s claims were baseless.
“That [GII] lady is speaking from the position of ignorance. She has no idea what she is talking about. I think it is quite unfortunate. Clearly, Mr Freddie Blay is not promising vehicles to delegates who are going to Koforidua to vote. We have over 300,000 people in each constituency averagely across the country, so the buses are not going to the delegates who are going to Koforidua but the party at the constituency level,” he clarified.
Mr Tetteh further explained that Mr Blay would not foot the bill of these buses.
“It is the bank that is funding based on credibility and providing security. It is the bank that has done the due diligence of the proposals so for me that is the source of funding. Freddie Blay does not have that kind of money to buy these buses,” he explained.
-Citifmonline