$5m Abacha Cash, NDC Chasing Me – Says Rawlings

Former President Jerry John Rawlings is not happy with elements in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) who are allegedly baying for his blood.

He is surprised that recent attacks on him have been orchestrated by people within the NDC, the party he founded.

The ex-President cited the recent petition presented by the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) leader, Henry Lartey to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) asking them to investigate circumstances under which he (Mr Rawlings) reportedly received an amount of $5 million from the late Nigerian Head of State, General Sani Abacha, as gift in 1998.

Mr Rawlings says his own people in the NDC are behind the ploy to sully his hard-won reputation.

Concern
According to him, “About three days before his drama [Henry Lartey went to file the petition], I got information that he was going to be financially rewarded for what he did and incidentally he was instigated not by people in the opposition.”

Mr Rawlings disclosed this when members of the Queen Mothers' Foundation of Ghana paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Accra yesterday.

An obviously unhappy Jerry Rawlings wondered, “Why are people worried about the level of integrity we've tried to maintain? We say we are Christians; we swear on the Bible, Muslims on the Koran.”

He, therefore, threw an open challenge to Henry Lartey and anyone who thinks he has done anything untoward to avail themselves so that they go the spiritual way to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of their claims against him.

Challenge
 
“I'd like to invite people like him [Henry Lartey] that we go traditional as well. That we invite the white man's technology (lie detector) to also come and verify the truthfulness, the integrity of my word. And for him to be simply asked who paid him to do what he did,” the former president fumed.

That, he said, was because the culture of disrespect which has engulfed the Ghanaian society has compromised its peace and made it vulnerable.

“When we used to exercise a culture of respect in the past there was a thick layer of peace, which could not be compromised that easily. Today that layer of peace is so thin a little provocation is all it takes to get matters out of hand,” he underscored.

Mr Rawlings had admitted that, indeed, he received money from the late Nigerian dictator, Sani Abacha, but maintained that it was $2 million and not $5 million as earlier speculated by the media.

Mr Rawlings had similarly expressed concern about a publication in the Africawatch magazine alleging that he has Parkinson disease, saying that the publication was engineered by elements in the NDC who want to embarrass him.

Mission
 
The queen mothers, who were led by Mamaga Noviode of Sogakope in the Volta Region, had gone there to express concern about the poor quality of political discourse and abusive language used against eminent persons in the run-up to the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 7.

The rest included Nana Akyembaku Mansa from the Central Region, Nana Ama Serwaa from Ashanti, Nana Akua Gyasiwaa from Eastern, Mamaga Maamele from Klikor in the Volta Region and Abesewaa Hemaa, Nana Afia Gyamaa Pinsan.

Worry
 
They were particularly concerned about the negative attacks on former President Rawlings, mostly from members of his own party and wondered whether those lending their voices to such contemptuous speech had forgotten the role he played in Ghana's political development.

Mamaga Noviode said, “We have come here to plead with you to exercise extreme patience and restraint and not allow such attacks to compel you to respond in anger.”

 
Charge
 
They have since charged the NDC to publicly reprimand members who show disrespect to the founder of the party to prove that they value the role he played in the establishment of the party.

Touching on the issue about peace before, during and after the elections, the former president said the 2016 elections would be a real test of Ghana's resolve and issued a note of caution to all stakeholders to ensure that the process is free and fair in order to guarantee post-election peace.

“We've been able to exercise the necessary restraint through quite a number of elections. This one is going to be a real test and I can only appeal once again that we make it as free and fair as we possibly can in order to maintain the peace,” he emphasized.

Mr Rawlings indicated that “to guarantee a result that would be acceptable to all nobody should attempt to misbehave or do anything fraudulent.”

He expressed his gratitude to the traditional rulers for the visit and showing concern and asked them to call for free and fair elections to guarantee the peace.

Also present at the meeting were Reverend Professor Richard Lawson, a member of the NDC Council of Elders, as well as Adams Guma, former District Chief Executive (DCE) of Walewale.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu