<<Print>>

The alleged overture to the Minister of Communications, Dr. Omane Boamah, by some of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) constituency executives in the Mpraeso constituency to come and contest the seat has driven the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Mpraeso, Joseph Omari crackers.

Information reaching The Chronicle indicates that the current constituency executives, apart from the Women Organizer, Noshie Moshi, have called on the minister to contest the upcoming primary, with the aim of leading the party in the 2016 parliamentary elections.

When the editorial team contacted Dr. Omane Boamah in Accra to react to the story, he said no party executive had contacted him to contest the seat and that he does not even have that ambition.

“Akli, you can quote me, I don’t vote there, and I don’t have Parliamentary ambition,” he noted.

The Communication Minister admitted that his mother hails from the area, but insisted that he had never dreamt of contesting the Mpraeso seat to merit the alleged hullabaloo surrounding his candidature.

But back at Mpraeso, the position of the constituency executives has not gone done well with Hon. Joseph Omari, who had contested the seat on two previous occasions and, therefore, sees the move by the executives as betrayal of trust.

The DCE is also accusing the constituency chairman, Mohammed Salisu and Eastern Regional Secretary of the party, Mr. Oliver Kevor, as the brains behind the move to bring in the Communication minister.

In a move to silence his supposed opponents, the DCE reportedly contacted an Atibie based spiritualist, Mallam Mohammed, to help him bring false charges against his constituency chairman and the regional secretary.

Addressing a news conference at the party’s office at Mpraeso last week Thursday, to expose the DCE, the constituency secretary of the party, Samuel Appiah Blankson, alleged that Mr. Joseph Omari had been going round telling people that the constituency chairman and the regional secretary had collected GHc 60,000 from Mallam Mohammed with the aim of helping the spiritualist to acquire a license to operate a radio station at Atibie.

Though the Constituency Secretary acknowledged that, the two leading members of the party are supporting the Mallam to secure the permit to operate a radio station, he was quick to mention that the two had not collected any money from Mallam Mohamamed.

Mallam Mohammed response on the alleged fraud

Mallam Mohammed, the spiritualists, on his part told The Chronicle in a follow up interview that Joseph Omari invited him to his house for discussions through the Presiding Member (PM) of Mpraeso Assembly, Ofosu Kissi.

According to him, he decided not to go, but upon second thought he went to President John Mahama’s representative to listen to what he had for him.

During the said meeting, Mallam Mohammed claimed the DCE told him that he had received pieces of information to the effect that, the constituency chairman and Regional Secretary had defrauded him (Mallam) to the tune of GHc60, 000.

According to the Atibie based spiritualist, Joseph Omari further told him that Kevor (Regional secretary) had directed the Constituency chairman to write letters to the party hierarchy for his (Omari) removal from office and begged him (Mallam) to assist him expose the two.

Mallam Mohammed further alleged that the DCE promised to help him secure the radio station operation permit if he assists him to expose the two who have been “enemies” thwarting his attempt to contest the Mpraeso seat for the third time.

Mallam Mohammed said he told the DCE that though both the constituency chairman and the regional secretary were helping him to secure the license; they have not defrauded him as he (DCE) was alleging.

The spiritualist further told The Chronicle that despite this denial, the DCE insisted that he (Mallam) should make wild allegations against the two in an effort to disgrace them. This would also stop the two from bringing the Communication minister to contest him. Mallam Mohammed said after turning down the demand from the DCE, the later went to press with a concocted story.

He regretted that the media did also not crosscheck the information from him before going public and has, therefore, threatened to sue the media houses that published the story.

What the DCE said when contacted   

Mr. Joseph Omari admitted inviting Mallam Mohammed to his house when The Chronicle contacted him for his side of the story. He, however, denied all the allegations made against him by the Mallam, insisting that he only invited him to his house to discuss how best he could assist him get the radio license.

According to Omari, since he is also a member of the NDC, he could not have asked the Mallam to concoct a story to disgrace the two party stalwarts.

Omari further told The Chronicle that he decided to contest the Mpraeso seat on the two previous occasions because the party did not have a candidate and that it would be news if the Communications Minister decides to contest this time round.

When asked if he would consider taking the Mallam to court for defamation of character, the DCE said he had left that to the   conscience of the Mallam.