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The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is behind the leaked “fake” Kwesi Botchwey report to divert attention from the current difficulties in the country, General Secretary of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia has said.

He said on Wednesday, 25 October, 2017 that he doubted any member of the NDC was behind the alleged leakage of the report insisting that it is the handiwork of the NPP.

“…I believe sincerely that it is an orchestration by the NPP government to divert attention from the current difficulties that the masses are going through,” Mr Nketia told Citi FM.

“We’ve taken a position that Kwesi Botchwey’s report is meant for internal consumption so it has not been published anywhere so any commentary that is being run or any alleged capturing of Botchwey’s report and serialisation cannot represent any genuine document coming from NDC,” General Mosquito as Mr Asiedu Nketia is known said.

In his observation, the NPP and the Akufo-Addo government resort to the alleged Botchwey report any time they are hit by a crisis.

“I have observed that it looks as if the NPP government wants to use some fake Botchwey report to divert the attention of Ghanaians from the hardships that they are going through so it’s like they are always using something purporting to be coming from Botchwey’s report to divert attention from any major issue that appears to be indicting the government.

“The day there was news about the $2.5bn scandal and everybody was debating then we came back to something allegedly coming from the Botchwey report, then we moved on to Maj. Mahama’s death and everybody was discussing it then bam, another thing purportedly coming from Botchwey’s report, then we came to the contaminated fuel matter, when it was being discussed then another thing coming from the Botchwey report.

“…The damning report of the IMF on the economy, they know it will attract national debate so something must come out there to divert people’s attention so if they choose that that is the way to go, let them know that no amount of diversion can take the people’s mind from the suffering they are going through.

“What the media is writing about can never be the Botchwey report, so if you are deceiving yourself by publishing things and alleging things that it is coming from page ‘so so and so’ and it is coming from the Botchwey report, you are deceiving yourself.

“If you go and fabricate things and put them there hoping that the fabrication will now force people to publish what the truth is, you’ll be deceiving yourself.

“If any media house alleges that there was something indicting Dr Omane Boamah, it is not Dr Omane Boamah to prove that it is wrong, it is for that media house to prove that indeed this thing exists, so we advised him to proceed against the media house and then the media house will have the responsibility of producing what they think is the Botchwey report then give them the source,” he said.

Before Mr Asiedu Nketia’s comments, former President John Mahama had come out to poke fun at the leaked report saying: “It appears ‘KB report’ has been adopted by some media as the new handbook for any challenge facing GH.”

He also tweeted that: “In the event of crisis, open any page and quote. Lol”.

Meanwhile, Bodi MP, Samson Ahi, who was a member of the 13-man Botchwey Committee that probed why the NDC lost the 2016 elections, said on Tuesday the leaked report being serialised in the media is “fake”.

Among other things, the leaked report described former President John Mahama as behaving like a “movie star” and also said the presence of former Communications Minister, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, and Presidential Staffer, Stan Dogbe, around the President, made Mr Mahama “naked”.

Excerpts of the leaked report also said out of 200 cars reserved for media personnel by the presidency, only 4 were given out.

Speaking on the leaked report on Asempa FM Tuesday, 24 October, Mr Ahi said: “We didn’t mention names, that’s why I’m telling you that the report you have is fake.”

“There have been insertions,” Mr Ahi insisted, adding: “Nobody discussed anything about 200 cars for the presidential press corps. It’s not true. It didn’t happen.”

“The original report is with the party leadership,” he said.

“I’m surprised people will sit down to fabricate such a report,” Mr Ahi noted, adding that: “Any report that mentioned any name is fake. We were never personal with our work. It is a fake report. The report that you are reading has a credibility problem.”