Clandestine moves by some North Tongu Constituency executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Volta region to disqualify the former Director of Internal Audit at the Ministry of Health (MoH), Mr. Christopher Kofi Eleblu, from contesting the party’s upcoming parliamentary primaries has backfired, Today can report.
Consequently, after the scheme by those executives to have Mr. Eleblu disqualified by the Joint Vetting Committee in Ho failed, Today gathered that the executives on Tuesday, October 20th, 2015 held a meeting in Volor in North Tongu to hatch another plan to launch a campaign of lies against Mr. Eleblu.
There was a follow-up meeting which initially started with the North Tongu constituency executives who were later joined by some news editors of some pro-NDC newspapers and FM stations.
The subject of the meeting, this paper further gathered, was to malign Mr. Eleblu.
A joint vetting committee, under the chairmanship of Mr. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, including some national executives of the NDC—Hudu Yahaya, Kofi Attor, Captain Joshua Akamba, Solomon Nkansah, and some regional executives—was set up to vet the North Tongu aspirants.
Today learnt that some North Tongu constituency executives for whatever reason(s) decided to work against Mr. Eleblu who is seen as the biggest threat to Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa, who is the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the area.
The worrying development, Today was told by a source close the North Tongu constituency, has led to cracks in the constituency as supporters of Mr. Eleblu and the MP are always at each other’s throat for no apparent reason.
Some constituency executives, according to the source, filed a petition against Mr. Eleblu, accusing him of conniving with the Director of Administration of MoH, Robert Azumah, Head of Estate, Michael Kyere-Yeboah, Mr. Ben Atsu Eleblu of defrauding the State to the tune of GH¢646,000.00,which invariably led to the suspension of vetting of Mr. Eleblu.
The constituency executives stated in the petition that “Mr. Eleblu has been charged with abetting with his brother, Mr. Ben Atsu Eleblu, to misapplying a sum of GH¢646,000.00, the money which was meant for the rehabilitation of 52 Health Training Institutions to train healthcare personnel who are already numerically inadequate.”
Although the North Tongu constituency executives have been playing hide-and-seek with their involvement in the petition, the NDC Volta Regional Chairman, Mr. Kwabena Gyapong, exposed the executives by confirming on Adidome-based radio station, Dela FM, somewhere last week that it was the North Tongu constituency executives who petitioned the vetting committee in Ho.
According to Mr. Gyapong, the constituency executives noted in the petition that Mr. Eleblu was currently being arraigned before the High Court (Financial Division) in Accra for defrauding the State.
Based on these grounds, Mr. Gyapong stated that the constituency executives asked the committee to disqualify Mr. Eleblu from the parliamentary primaries as well as his arrest and prosecution.
But, Mr. Eleblu had since denied the accusations, describing the court writ of summons as “frivolous and baseless,” adding that the document “lacks credence, authenticity and integrity.”
He also denied the allegation of his involvement in any such fraudulent act(s), noting that in financial management in public sector, directors of internal audit are not mandated to approve any proposal on contractual agreement in any government agencies.
“If in the event that directors of internal audit approve and review any contract it means that no seasoned public servant would be required to work on that document, he stressed, and dared the State to publish any document it claims he (C.K. Eleblu) has approved or reviewed for the general public to see.”
Meanwhile, in a petition dated on October 16, 2015 which is in the possession of Today, the Solicitor of Mr. Eleblu, Hansen Kofi Adde, downplayed the court writ of summons suit No. FTRM/110/2015 that its legality, authenticity and integrity had been called to serious question.
The petition was subsequently presented to the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, with copies to various high profile executives of the party on the authenticity and integrity of the so-called court writ of summons.
It asserted that the process did not bear any discernible stamp of the High Court of Justice, neither the facts sheet nor other attached documents being stamped to show that they were really court documents.
The petition noted that the attached documents could be signed by any person though they were made to believe it emanated from the Attorney-General’s office.
<<Print>>