NPP Gurus Snub Police

Nana Akufo-Addo, Freddie Blay and Abankwa Yeboah

First National Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay and National Treasurer, Kwabena Abankwah Yeboah, have turned down an invitation by the Police CID to answer questions relating to supposed diverted funds of the party.

The police invitation followed an alleged complaint said to have been lodged by some persons whose identity the police had refused to disclose.

Interestingly, a letter from the police dated August 26, 2016 and signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Redeemer Vincent Dedjoe, captioned 'Request for Investigations' and addressed to party chairman Paul Afoko, which was leaked to the press, said 'the CID headquarters is investigating a case of alleged diversion of NPP funds by the First Vice National Chairman, Mr Freddie Blay and Treasurer, Mr Abankwah Yeboah contrary to laid down party procedures.'

The letter therefore requested Mr Afoko to meet the investigation team of the CID on Friday, August 28, 2015 to assist in investigations.

It was not clear if Paul Afoko had honoured the invitation.

On their part, Freddie Blay and Abankwah Yeboah called the bluff of the Police, questioning the identity of the complainant.

Two senior officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters, Superintendent Francis Baah and Assistant Superintendent of Police John Kweku Lodonu stormed the offices of DAILY GUIDE on Tuesday afternoon to invite Mr Blay, who is also the Publisher of the paper, for a meeting the next day to answer some questions.

However, after probing further to know exactly what his crime was, Mr Blay told the police he would not be able to honour the invitation since the issue in question was a purely party matter for which he would not want to speak to.

Reason
Instead, he said he was prepared to submit himself to the police officers if they were to arrest him.

'If it is an invitation, I am declining but if you are arresting me then I have no choice,' he reportedly told the police officers.

This was after National Chairman of the NPP, Paul Afoko, had caused his spokesman, one Nana Yaw Osei, to issue a long, winding statement in which he raised issues about some supposed financial dealings in the political grouping while accusing NPP Members of Parliament of virtually neglecting the party, saying, 'the monthly financial support from the party's Members of Parliament has ceased since February 2015.'

In the said statement which was issued Tuesday, Mr Afoko warned that punitive actions would be taken against members of the party found to have embezzled funds.

In a subsequent interview on Joy FM, the spokesman for Mr Afoko, Nana Yaw Osei, condemned the First National Vice Chairman, Freddie Blay, for allegedly sidelining the process of withdrawing money from the party's account, giving an indication on who might have lodged the complaint with the police.

'It has never been the practice that the vice chairperson or the first vice chairperson will be a signatory to a party account,' he said on Joy News yesterday.

However, records showed that previous vice chairpersons like the immediate past, Fred Oware, were signatories to the party's account.

Disappointment
An obviously unhappy Freddie Blay expressed disappointment that the National Chairman and General Secretary were using the police to tackle an internal party matter.

He accused Mr Afoko and General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong of rather hijacking the management of the party's funds and spending money without rendering account to the Steering Committee (SC).

'They have written letters to the various banks that they are the only two people that should be running it….that is what they are doing,' he charged.

It was for this reason he said Abankwah Yeboah, the National Treasurer, had refused to pay an amount of GH¢5 million into an account controlled by the duo, since the treasurer harboured the fear they would use the money without the knowledge and approval of either their colleague national executives or the Steering Committee.

'We don't know how it is spent. The Treasurer doesn't know…and according to the Treasurer, part of the money has been misused,' Mr Blay alleged.

Surprise
Deputy Minority Leader, Dominic Nitiwul, equally expressed surprise at the turn of events and the extent to which internal party matters were being put out in public with the involvement of the police.

Even though he admitted that the issue of financial impropriety came up at the party's last National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, he disclosed that a five-member committee headed by Nana Ohene Ntow had been formed to look into the matter and it was yet to present its report.

He therefore expressed outrage that 'somebody would issue a public statement on the very work the committee is doing? I am shocked.'

Outrage
National Treasurer of the party, Abankwah Yeboah, also expressed outrage at the conduct of the party chairman in causing his spokesman to issue a statement over a matter which he had already reported to the NEC, upon which a committee was formed.

That, he said, was because 'I'm a self-made man; I will not lick anybody's boots for anything so nobody will misappropriate funds as far as I'm in charge.'

Instead, he said, 'if Paul Afoko wants to weed out corruption in the NPP, he should be bold to present his evidence to NEC and stop hiding behind faceless individuals.'

Abankwah Yeboah therefore indicated his unwillingness to honour the police invitation, insisting that a party matter which was before NEC must be dealt with internally and not at the behest of the police.

 'We are fighting for a new voters register and our flagbearer is beginning his tour and instead of working in unity, look at what we are fighting about,' he noted with worry.

The NPP Treasurer was cork sure that 'those who have gone for money to destroy the NPP will fail because the majority of party members are ready to work for power in 2016.'

By Charles Takyi-Boadu