Rawlings Sets Spies In National Security

Accra, July 24 (Daily Guide) -- The special assistant to former President Jerry John Rawlings, Emmanuel Victor Smith has dropped a bombshell to the effect that the Office of the former President has infiltrated the national security apparatus, with some operatives being on the payroll of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) founder.

Speaking on an Accra-based private radio station, Victor Smith, who was given over one hour of airtime to virtually engage in an unprovoked shadow-boxing with the National Security Minister, Mr. Francis Poku, stated that the former president paid agents within the national security setting, who constantly fed his office with reports. He said the former president decided on infiltration to monitor the National Security Minister, Mr. Francis Poku, whom he described as a cowboy.”

Mr. Poku, who appears to be the nemesis of Mr. Rawlings, according to Victor Smith, has not given the former first couple breathing space, by constantly keeping them on his intelligence radar. Victor Smith attracted hostile reaction from a section of Ghanaians who asked him to shut up when he constantly referred to the National Security Minister, even when there was no need for such reference during the radio programme. Mr. Smith expressed dismay at what he said was an undermining of his boss’ office by Mr. Francis Poku. The host of the programme was visibly startled when Mr. Smith told him that “our intelligence tells us that…”

The host could not resist seeking an answer as to whether Rawlings’ office ran a parallel intelligence outfit. To this, Smith counter-based “what is wrong with that?” Victor Smith ironically told his host that the office of the former president had paid at the Blue Gate, personnel who feed the office with intelligence information about Mr. Poku and the Government. One caller condemned Mr. Smith for dove-tailing every answer to Francis Poku, even when that was unnecessary.

To him, Francis is feeling uncomfortable because Rawlings’ household has retired soldiers and this, he explained, makes Francis apprehensive about coups. When asked about whether Rawlings had attempted five coups so far, he retorted “Francis told you that” and asked why the national security capo did not take action on those linked with the attempts. He accused Francis of putting stories in certain newspapers to achieve his aims but when he was asked whether he was not the man who ran the Democrat newspaper, he denied it, explaining that all he did was to support some papers, especially pro-NDC publications. “I do more for pro-NDC papers than NPP ones,” he asserted. Continuing to charge on Francis, he accused him of engaging some papers to clean up his image, going ahead to point fingers at papers like Gye Nyame Concord and Crusading Guide as the culprits.

The national security chief, he said, has access to unaccountable imprest with which he is able to do whatever he wants. Ironically, under the NDC administration, the national security apparatus had unrivalled power resources at their disposal. In fact, analysts said the current system is no match to what obtained in those days, when the outfit was a dreaded organisation, with Kofi Totobi-Quakyi as the man in charge of the apparatus. The minister of the National Security, he said, had been making overtures to Rawlings’ household and even settling some of them in the US. He asked whether Rawlings was being paid adequately, when the issue of staffers of his outfit approaching the Blue Gate with intelligence information out of frustration, came up.

Recalling the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), he said it was aimed at harming Rawlings who was the target of it all. “Francis is a destroyer and a fabricator of lies,” a bellicose Victor Smith fired. Continuing, he said Francis puts NPP first instead of Ghana. On Mr. Dan Botwe, the aide said he was not happy that he was removed from office, adding that he had a certain relationship with the man and for him, it was this which led to his removal from office. “Dan Botwe was my friend and I hear one of the reasons for his removal was my relationship with him. We did not meet often but Francis was bugging my phone, his own (Dan) and Rawlings’, he said.

He claimed that Francis wanted to find out the content of the conversation between him and Dan, adding however that “our conversation was not injurious to the state. Victor Smith intermittently descended on other personalities he perceived to have close links with the Government. He described Kweku, the Editor-in-chief of Crusading Guide as a national security operative and quickly descended on Francis Opoku again, accusing him of disturbing the peace of the Rawlings household.