Lens: Kufuor Must Resign

…His Lies Before Parliament Represent Perjury Tony Aidoo

“President Kufuor must resign immediately for committing perjury in parliament.”

These above sentiments were expressed yesterday by Dr Tony Aidoo, the former NDC Deputy Minister of Defense.

He was reacting on Radio Gold’s newspaper review to statements made a day earlier on the energy situation by Andy Awuni, the presidential spokesperson.

According to Dr Aidoo, the president had lied to the people of Ghana when he said in his State of the Nation’s address that his government had taken steps that would ensure that within the next two weeks the nation would benefit from 200 megawatts of power from Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire.

“By now the president should have resigned honourably for lying to the country,” Tony Aidoo said.

He said that unknown to most Ghanaians no such agreement had even been entered into with the La Cote D’Ivoire.

Dr Aidoo also debunked Andy Awuni’s claim that the NPP government had expanded the capacity of the Aboadze plant from 200 Megawatts to over 500 Megawatts.

The NDC firebrand explained that it was the NDC that increased the capacity of the Aboadze thermal plant from 330 megawatts to about 550 megawatts in 1999.

Andy Awuni among other things had also stated that the reason why his government had not done more for the energy sector was because the NPP had to spend years to “clean the economic mess left behind by the NDC.”

Dr Aidoo described that statement as not only illogical but contracdictory and wondered how anyone can claim to be fixing the economy when the energy sector which powers that economy has not been touched at all.

Mr Kwamena Awhoi, the NDC Local Government who later called into the program, made matters even more embarrassing for the President and his spokesman.

Mr Awhoi was at a loss as to why President Kufuor takes so much delight in routinely lying to the people of Ghana. He said during the first term of the NPP, the president during a State of the Nation address had similarly promised that within six months, the Osagyefo barge would come on stream and substantially add to the energy capacity of the country.

“It is now four years since the president made that declaration but there is still nothing to show.”

Mr Awhoi stated that since there exists no energy interconnectivity between Nigeria and Ghana, he wondered how the president could actually state on authority that energy was being brought from Nigeria to help complement Ghana’s energy within two weeks.

“Before Nigeria can help, there must exist some interconnectivity. That is not the case at the moment so how is it possible?”

Kwamena Awhoi also used the occasion to expose Andy Awuni. According to him, the presidential spokesman had told a lie at the press conference when he said that the NPP government as part of the golden jubilee anniversary was about to rehabilitate the house Dr. Nkrumah was living in at the Flagstaff house.

“That house does not exist. It was completely burned down after the overthrow of Nkrumah,” he said.

He dared Andy Awuni to produce the photo of the house if the house is still present.

“Let us all see the photo of the house if it truly exists before the government embarks on the so called refurbishment.”