Bede Fights Tony Aidoo

A FORMER acting General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bede Ziedeng has launched attacks on Dr. Tony Aidoo, former deputy Minister of Defence and Kwesi Pratt, editor of The Insight, describing them as peddlers of falsehood.

In a response to comments made by the duo on Radio Gold Saturday political programme, 'Alhaji & Alhaji' in which a number of what he termed fallacies were peddled against him, Bede delivered a blow-by-blow account of aspects of the NDC's controversial past in a bid to rubbish the allegations of his political adversaries.

Tony Aidoo had virtually described Bede, who is now a deputy General Secretary of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), as a mad person, referring to his comments on the statement made by the Lower Manya Krobo MP, regarding the health status of Prof Mills, NDC flagbearer.

He said Bede was speaking like somebody who has just been released from the asylum and was running riot on the radio.

However, Bede did not see the statement as complimentary and in the company of Madam Frances Ewurabena Assiam, Chairperson of Publicity Committee of the DFP, launched counterattack on Tony Aidoo and Pratt.

The DFP deputy scribe who was virtually on rampage, told Mr. Pratt that the days when he could get away with falsehoods on radio are now over.

He said he has never contested parliamentary elections in his life as alleged by Pratt, and added, “I have the courage and experience to do so and challenge Kwesi Pratt to do same.”

Bede stated that Dr. Obed Asamoah parted ways with Mr. Jerry Rawlings because, as he put it, “the NDC had departed from the values it stood for”.

He added, “the values of a religious politician differ from a non-religious one. I may be abrasive but I am not destructive, so if Mr. Kwesi Pratt chooses the destructive path, those are his values.”

Turning to Dr. Tony Aidoo, who he said harbours so much hatred for Dr. Obed Asamoah, he explained that this stems from the former's removal as Director of Research for the NDC.

The removal was at a time when Dr. Asamoah was chairman of the party, he said, pointing out that “the decision to remove Dr. Aidoo was taken by a National Executive Committee (NEC) at a meeting.”

Showing visible anger over the allegation from Dr. Aidoo that Dr. Asamoah stole NDC money, he said “I find it a complete embarrassment from someone who wants to be a member of the legal profession. It is elementary law that an allegation cannot pass for the truth, no matter how many times it is repeated, unless you can adduce evidence to prove it.”

Seeking to impress that Dr. Aidoo has contributed relatively little to the development of the country's politics, in comparison to Dr. Asamoah, Bede said “the difference between Tony Aidoo and Obed Asamoah is that the latter and his colleagues took part in the crucial decisions to return the country to constitutional rule and Tony Aidoo only participated in an activity arising out of that decision. So I maintain that in terms of the politics of this country, Tony comes nowhere near Obed Asamoah.”

Not taking kindly to the allegation by the former NDC Director of Research that it was during the chairmanship of Dr. Obed Asamoah that violence was visited on the party, he rubbished the position.

Explaining, the deputy General Secretary of the DFP traced the genesis of violence in the NDC to the day when, according to him, Dr. Aidoo stormed the party's congress upon the election of Dr. Asamoah as chairman of the party.

“Tony Aidoo took over the mike and threatened mayhem. In fact, it took the personal intervention of Prof. Mills to stop him in his tracks. That was the beginning of violence in the NDC. That was when the seed of violence was sowed in the NDC,” he charged.
Turning down memory lane, he pointed at the ill-fated congress of the party in Koforidua where he recalled that “the tone for violence was set by the former president when he stated in his speech that Frances Assiam and others had defiled the party, and prayed for their souls. The resistance by Frances earned her death threats and lashes on her buttocks.”

Mr. Ziedeng denied Dr. Aidoo's assertion that he did not make available handing-over notes when he resigned from the NDC.
“It is a big lie and it shows how ignorant he is about the running of the NDC. I did hand over after leaving the NDC to the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) at the NDC headquarters,” he said.
He contended that when he resigned from the party, an audit was carried out “and they found absolutely nothing, even in my absence and so there was a handing-over. I was Chief Executive Officer”.By A. R. Gomda