Former Mayor debunks Anane's Kufour comments

Former Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Stanley Nii Adjiri Blankson, has been compelled by cir­cumstances to respond to the tantrums of former Minister of Health, Dr Richard Anane, virtually labelling the latter as a liar.

This was after Dr Anane alleged during the campaign launch of Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen—one of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presiden­tial aspirants—at the weekend that sometime in 1998, Nii Adjiri Blank­son and some members of the team that campaigned for Nana Akufo- Addo in his quest to lead the NPP, schemed to have John Agyekum Kufuor dropped and replaced with Akufo-Addo, even though Kufuor had been elected as the party's presi­dential candidate in Sunyani.

According to Dr Anane, Adjiri Blankson and his colleagues pre­vailed on the late B.J. da Rocha and then Chairman of the NPP, Samuel Odoi-Sykes, as well as other execu­tives of the party, to drop Mr Kufuor and replace him with Nana Akufo- Addo.

Obviously amazed at the claims, Adjiri Blankson issued a statement yesterday in which he expressed dis­pleasure over Dr Anane's comments, describing them as 'fitful lies' which never occurred. "I have never dreamt of such obnoxious and near macabre agenda, more so going mindlessly to da Rocha and Odoi Sykes; but I have time to civilly project the agenda of Nana towards 18 October," the for­mer Accra Mayor rebutted.

He said he would have treated the statements with contempt but for the fact that some people might be tempted to believe such "unfortu­nate, diabolical, callous and psycho­metric campaign speech."

"I find such ugly and noisy aber­ration from Dr Richard Anane sim­ply as a tired, confused and flaccid father who forcibly wants to put his child to sleep by talking 'ananse sem' stories," he noted.

Nii Adjiri Blankson said Dr Anane "should have known better, particularly, with that singular opportunity he had to tell the much needed audience at Lapaz of the virtues and programme of his candi­date and my good friend Alan, but he wasted time lying through his teeth and creating so much embar­rassment to his team and discomfi­ture to his audience."

He has urged Dr Anane to retract those comments.