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26.11.2008 Politics

Go To Hell – Mallam Isa Told

26.11.2008 LISTEN
By Daily Guide

THE NATIONAL Chairman of the People's National Convention (PNC), Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan has stated that Mallam Yusuf Isa, the former Minister of Youth and Sports who was jailed over a missing $46,000, can go to hell.

Mallam Isa, on Monday at a press conference, announced his defection from the PNC to the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The man who claimed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government used him as a scapegoat to portray to Ghanaians that the government was committed to fighting corruption indicated that he had now come to the realisation that the NDC was a genuine party, hence his defection to their camp.

However, the PNC National Chairman contended that the party cared less about the defection because “the party would not be affected the least by the development”.

He added that the party was not bothered at all by the news because they wanted to remain focused for a surprising victory in the December 7 elections.

“Let me assure supporters of our great party that we don't need characters like Mallam Isa to win the impending elections,” he argued.

Speaking on Hello FM in Kumasi on Tuesday morning, Alhaji Ramadan observed that Mallam Isa was not a power bloc in the party whose exit would affect the fortunes of the PNC.

He disclosed that the party stopped recognizing Mallam Isa, popularly known as 'Insha Allah', as a member of the PNC immediately he accepted President Kufuor's appointment as the Minister of Youth and Sports.

Alhaji Ramadan continued that this was the reason why the party had not involved the ex-convict in its activities since he was granted presidential pardon by President Kufuor in 2003.

Meanwhile Mallam Isa, in an interview on the same network pointed out that his defection would go a long way to better the fortunes of the NDC in the upcoming polls.

Claiming that he had a lot of followers who looked up to him for political decisions, he contended that his defection would bring not less than 600,000 votes to the NDC in the December 7 polls.

He disclosed that though he had not yet been assigned any role in the NDC, he would love to be included in the party's campaign trail so he could canvass for votes for his newfound party.

Mallam Isa, a former National Chairman of the PNC, held the ministerial portfolio for three months under President Kufuor's administration, until a four-year jail sentence was slapped on him by an Accra Fast Track Court when an amount of $46,000 meant for the payment of bonuses for members of the senior national soccer team, the Black Stars, vanished from his suitcase.

However during the country's 46th Independence anniversary celebration in 2003, Mallam Isa and some over 2000 convicts were granted amnesty by President Kufuor.

From Morgan Owusu, Kumasi

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