Bolga MCE and NDC Constituency Executives deny allegation

Mr Edward Ayagle, Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Constituency Executives have rubbished allegations that they were involved in a case in which the Presiding Member (PM) of the Municipal Assembly, Mr John Nyaba, is alleged to have defrauded the Assembly man for Zaare Electoral Area of GHc8,500. At a Press Conference organised by the MCE and the Bolgatanga Central Constituency Executives of the party last Friday , the MCE described the allegation that was published in the Daily Guide and Daily Graphic newspapers on January 30 and January 31, 2013 as malicious and politically motivated to tarnish his image, as well as that of the Constituency Executives and the party as a whole. He indicated that it was very unprofessional for the Journalists of those two newspapers not to have contacted them to hear their side of the story before going into print. The MCE explained that in May 2012 the leadership of the NDC in the Constituency made an appeal for funds to execute the party's 2012 election campaign, to which a lot of party faithful and well wishers contributed immensely. He said the total amount realized was handed over to him and was used judiciously towards the said exercise which he noted led to the party's resounding victory in both the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in the constituency. He said the party never made any promise in the form of awarding contracts to any contributor as alleged in the said publications and indicated the stories smacked of malice and an attempt to drug the name of the party in the Bolgatanga constituency into dispute. The MCE said usually, the Assembly only advertises for contractors to bid for contracts which are won on merit and that it did not have the capacity to award contracts to favourites or somebody to take bribe . �Also, no Assembly gets contracts from the Presidency as alleged in the story". The MCE stated that the President and his government needed peace to execute the policies and programmes they had promised Ghanaians and would not want anybody or group of people to destabilize the process. The Constituency NDC Secretary, Mr Roland Ayoo said the Constituency Executive had constituted an Economic Management Committee and the Party had also a constituency treasurer who was in charge of money relating to the running of its administration and reuted the allegation in the story that some constituency party elders took money from the PM to run the party�s affairs . He said the party made a general appeal for funds during the campaign period and that if the PM had extorted money from someone under the pretext of giving him contracts they the party executives were not in the picture and would not want to be linked to the issue. It would be recalled that last week Mr Sanky Azuma Abire, Assemblyman for Zaare in Bolgatanga central and a member of the New Patriotic Party, lodged a complaint to the Bolgatanga police alleging that the PM had defrauded him of GHc8,500 and promised to give him a contract which he never did . This led to the arrest of the PM who was later granted bail. Meanwhile, the police have confirmed that the PM has reached an amicable settlement of the matter with the complainant.