The New Crusading GUIDE last week Wednesday 13th July, 2016 began a series of re-publication of news reports and commentaries by media houses and political actors when the Rawlings/Abacha $5 million saga broke 18 years ago.
Today, we reproduce publications by the national daily, The Daily Graphic on Friday, December 18, 1998.
Stay tuned for more of such re-productions by both local and international media outlets.
A Trip Down Memory Lane …. How ‘The Daily Graphic’ Reported Story 18 Years Ago (December 18, 1998)
Allegation of $5m Bribe Against Ghanaian Leader
NIGERIA CLEARS RAWLINGS
Nigeria has denied reports in certain press and political circles that the President, Flt-Lt Jerry John Rawlings received $5 million from the late General Sani Abacha, former Head of State of Nigeria as bribe.
The Chief Press Secretary to Nigerian leader, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Mallam Mohammed Haruna made the denial yesterday when he addressed a news conference in Abuja attended by the country’s State House Senior Correspondents.
He described the $5million alleged bribery of Rawlings by General Abacha as a baseless rumour aimed at undermining and destroying the good neighbourly relations between Nigeria and Ghana.
Furthermore, he said, the allegations hamper the leading roles of both states in stabilizing the West African sub-region.
MALLAM HARUNA SAID THERE IS NO RECORD ANYWHERE TO SHOW THAT PRESIDENT RAWLINGS EVER RECEIVED SUCH MONEY FROM THE LATE GENERAL ABACHA OR FROM ANY OTHER NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL AND ADVISED JOURNALISTS PEDDLING SUCH FALSEHOOD TO STOP SUCH MISCHIEF.
The official Nigerian Government response to the bribery allegation should put to rest weeks of mudslinging and smear campaign unleashed on President Rawlings by unfriendly media and political groups in both Ghana and Nigeria over the matter.
Nigeria’s Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ambassador Chinade recently said that the Ministry maintains a high sense of integrity and responsibility in carrying out diplomatic duties between the two states as well as with all others.
HE MADE IT CLEAR THAT MONEY DOES NOT FEATURE IN THE CONDUCT OF THE COUNTRY’S DIPLOMACY.
It would be recalled that Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Justice D.F. Annan recently ruled that an urgent motion by the Minority urging the House to request the government to set up a high-powered independent board of enquiry to determine the veracity or otherwise of the allegation of improper payment to the President by the Government of General Abacha cannot be heard.
The Speaker pointed out that there is lack of material evidence to lend credence to news reports on the issue.
He said to debate the motion at the present, will offer some credibility to a matter that on the stated facts would seem to amount to nothing more than speculative reporting.
‘He’s Truly Incorruptible’
By A.B.A. Fuseini
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asserted that the official denial by the Nigerian Government that $5 million bribe was given to President Jerry John Rawlings by the late Nigerian Leader, General Sani Abacha, vindicates the Ghanaian leader as an unbribable man of integrity.
“THIS DISCLOSURE ALSO CONFIRMS THE STATUS OF PRESIDENT RAWLINGS AS AN HONEST, TRANSPARENT AND INCORRUPTIBLE LEADER WHOSE COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL JUSTICE AND TO THE INTEREST OF GHANA AND THE SUB-REGION WILL NEVER BE COMPROMISED ON THE ALTAR OF ANY MATERIAL GAIN”, the party pointed out.
It also observed that the attributes of probity, honesty, accountability and social justice given birth to by the June 4 and 31 December Revolutions under the leadership of President Rawlings, have come to stay and that not even the most vicious of campaigns mounted against his personality or the ideas as opposed could obliterate them.
Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, General Secretary of the NDC was reacting to the disclosure by the Nigerian Government clearing President Rawlings of any bribe taking in an interview in Accra yesterday.
According to the NDC General Secretary, the “falsehood hatched and propagated by hostile press and opposition circles” in both countries was “designed to break the solidarity between the two nations in the West African sub-region”.
He recalled similar incidents in the past including one in June this year, in which the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that the Special Advisor to the Nigerian Government had alleged that Ghana was involved in activities to undermine the Nigerian Government of General Abacha which the Ghana Government denied and said this was part of the ploy to damage the good relations between the two states.
The General Secretary noted that following the dispatch by the then Abacha Government of a delegation to Accra to President Rawlings in an image-mending exercise after the spurious allegation against Ghana, the incident was put behind the two countries and the warm relations between them continue.
“Now we are being told that far from planning the overthrow of General Abacha, Ghana under President Rawlings took money to try and maintain Abacha in power. And where did this allegation come from? From the late Abacha’s former advisor! Could it be that these two diametrically opposed stories came from a single source with a mission to divide our two nations?” he wondered.
Alhaji Huudu Yahaya pointed out that it was utterly irresponsible for those who do not like President Rawlings to be blinded by passion to do the work of those who stand to benefit from divisions in the front of Ghana and Nigeria.
“IN THIS REGARD, THE NDC EXPECTS ALL GHANAIANS, INCLUDING THE OPPOSITION, TO SEE THE PUBLICATION IN THAT INNOCUOUS NIGERIAN NEWSPAPER AS AN INSULT TO GHANA AND NOT JUST TO THE PERSON OF PRESIDENT RAWLINGS AND TREAT IT WITH THE CONTEMPT THAT IT DESERVES AS HAS BEEN DONE BY THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT”, he said.
When the Graphic contacted the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which has been at the fore front of actions in Parliament to get a probe set up into the allegation and which has failed to materialize for its comment on the new development, Mr. Kwabena Adu-Essem, Director of Communications of the party said the matter was currently under study and that the party’s position on the mater, would be unveiled as soon as it appraised itself of the situation. He declined further comment.
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