Veep Abuse incumbency

IT WAS indeed a clear case of abuse of incumbency when on Thursday night the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama having performed a state assignment at Elembele in the Western Region, drove down with his entourage in convoys to camp about seventy delegates at the Residency of the Western Regional Minister, using state facilities at the Residency Hall to address delegates. The secret meeting and camping of the delegates started around 8pm and ended late in the night.

The delegates were selected from Ahanta West, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Takoradi, Sekondi, Essikado Ketan and Mpohor Wassa Constituencies, and included members of the Women’s Wing of the NASARA Club, led by Madam Sawda.

The hall of the Residency is normally used exclusively for official and state assignments such as heads of department meetings, media briefings by the minister and by other officials of state.

But this time round, the Vice President with the aid of his subordinates, and the Regional Minister, Anthony Evans Amoah, did the ‘unthinkable’ when he (the minister) ordered the clean up of the Residency Hall for his boss to use to advance his presidential ambition.

Facilities such as microphones, air-conditioners and candle light bulbs which were hitherto put off during such off-duty hours were all in full operation, shooting up electricity bills which would in the end be footed by the tax payer in the name of the Vice President’s meeting with the delegates.

Though attempts to get the Minister to justify why the Vice could use such facilities for his personal ambition proved futile, the Public Relations Officer to the minister, Mr. Asante, when contacted on the matter, denied knowledge of the subject.

Asked to justify why the Vice should use state facilities for his personal ambition, Asante replied, “Adams, you know this is political and the question is too much for me. Besides I am not a delegate so I was not there,” he told this reporter.

At the secret meeting which was attended by Mr. Amoaku-Tufour, the Chief of his campaign team; Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, formerly with the Ghana Integrity Group and now moved to the Vice President’s team and the Western Regional youth organiser, Onassis Aminu.

The Regional Minister reportedly introduced the delegates and set the ball rolling for the Veep.

Addressing the delegates, Alhaji Aliu Mahama reportedly told the delegates that as Vice he had the full backing of the constitution to use state facilities such as helicopters while embarking on official duties but he would not do that as others did.

He probably had in mind Dr. Addo-Kufuor using the official airplane to fly to Sunyani with his aides some months ago, or Mr. Allan Kyeremanten who had a plane take him and pressmen to commission the tomato processing plant in Pwalugu in the Upper East Region.

All this while, the Regional Minister sat in the meeting and also took nag, addressing questions such as the issue of NPP foot soldiers accessing the MASLOC loan. He said the loan was not for NPP people alone, but was available to any group who met the criteria.

Continuing however, the Vice President told the delegates that since he had co-existed with the sitting president without any hitch, he was most qualified to run the affairs of the state. “I am peaceful, and I have worked with President Kufour peacefully,” he noted, adding that if he was given the nod, he would change the destiny of Ghana. He did not elaborate on how he was going to effect that change and none of the gawking delegates subjected him to any questions, as they appeared to be more interested in what he had by way of ‘presents’.