'Reinvestigate Muntaka'

It appears the chapter on the saga of the now-resigned Minister of Youth and Sports, Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mulbarak, is not yet closed in spite of his exoneration by the National Security apparatus, as a group calling itself Zongo New Patriotic Party (NPP) Pioneers in Kumasi has charged President Mills to reinvestigate the Asawase Member of Parliament (MP). According to the group, fresh investigations into the 17-point allegations of financial malfeasance leveled against the immediate past Youth and Sports Minister is crucial because in their view, the National Security report on the matter is bogus and hogwash, to say the least. Addressing a press conference in Kumasi yesterday, spokesperson of the group, Abdul Basit A. Rahman, insisted that the National Security report is a public relations gimmick deliberately manufactured by government to cover up the allegations of financial impropriety against the Asawase MP. Justifying his assertion, Abdul Basit wondered how a report on one breadth can exonerate somebody of allegations of malfeasance and even praise him of saving the nation from imminent loses but at the same time accuse the person of financial indiscretion. �We think that the report is bogus and hogwash, to say the least, because when you read it, you find it difficult to comprehend what the report wants to put across,� he firmly intimated. The spokesperson observed that if President Mills truly believes in his much-touted promise that he would not hesitate to deal ruthlessly with allegations of corruption that may come up against officials of his government, then he should reinvestigate Hon Muntaka and let Ghanaians know the true story. He demanded that the reinvestigation, if it would be complied with, should be done by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service and not the National Security which had proven beyond doubt that it is not a credible institution to handle such matters. According to him, the reinvestigation should not be limited to Hon Muntaka alone but should rope in Mr Alex Segbefia, the Deputy Chief of Staff, and all top guns in the ruling party whose names were mentioned in the 17-point allegations. In a passionate tone, Abdul Basit charged President Mills to walk his talk of not condoning acts of corruption in his administration by ordering the prosecution of Hon Muntaka and co when they are found culpable in the investigations. He vehemently condemned the tribalisation of the issue by the Zongo community, stressing that the violent demonstration the National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters in the Asawase constituency staged against the resignation of their MP was totally uncalled for. The spokesperson descended heavily on northerners who are acting as if Hon Muntaka is a super human being who is representing the whole of the Zongo community in government. �Why is it that when Mallam Issah suffered the same predicament, northerners who are making deafening noise about Hon Muntaka kept quiet and never raised a concern?� Abdul Basit asked rhetorically. Equally, he outrightly condemned attempts by some northerners to incite people living in the Zongo communities against the Akans, emphasising that it was about time such people were dealt with severely before they plunge the nation into perpetual turmoil. Hon Muntaka who was asked by President Mills to step aside for investigations to be launched into 17 allegations of financial impropriety leveled against him by his Chief Director, Mr Albert Ampong and Principal Accountant, Mr Adim Odoom, fascinatingly resigned his position though the investigative report exonerated him. The action of the embittered MP has given cause for people, particularly the northerners in the NDC, to think that Hon Muntaka was compelled by powers that be in the ruling party to resign. This assertion infuriated supporters of the ruling party in the Asawase constituency who staged a violent demonstration in Kumasi hours after Hon Muntaka had announced his resignation.