Plot To Kill NDC MP Foiled

Credible intelligence picked up by Gye Nyame Concord suggests that a plot to assasinate the youthful National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, has been foiled.

The MP had been marked for elimination with the aid of people close to him, including a driver he recently fired on learning of the plot, usually reliable deep throat sources within the main opposition party have told this paper.

Information also gleaned from diplomatic Intel sources suggests that the information had been passed on to the Ghanaian security agencies, who were monitoring the situation, before it was botched by Haruna’s refusal to travel with the said driver on the day of the planned elimination.

The driver, whose servics had been secured by the plotters, would have driven him to his death, GYE NYAME CONCORD gathered.

Sources say the plot to eliminate the NDC MP was taken at two recent meetings, one of which occured at the residence of one of the leading members of Haruna’s party itself, who had himself recently been verbally attacked by the party’s Founder at the NDC “Family Meeting” at Coco Beach Hotel at Nungua, Accra.

At the plot meeting at the residence of the one-time Minister and current MP attended by a select few, Haruna Iddrisu was marked for the gallows after being fingered as a suspected mole not keen on pushing forward the Founder’s interest.

The exact reasons for suspecting Haruna Iddrisu as not working in the interest of the Founder/NDC is not clear, but Gye Nyame Concord can confidently asert that some members of the previous executive team of Dr Obed Asamaoah are still looked on with suspicion by certain power-brokers in the NDC, despite having retained the confidence of a large majority of party members at the last executive elections.

The suspicious lot, which include National Organiser Ofosu Ampofo, Deputy General Secretary Baba Jamal, among others, have therefore had to be extremely careful in their handling of party issues, this paper reliably gathered.

Reached on phone, the affable Tamale South MP, lawyer and former NUGS President, was unwilling to comment on the issue.

“My life is in the hands of Allah, my maker. Beyond that, Alfred, l have no comment” he politely told this reporter.

The respected young darling of a sizable number of NDC activists was not even ready to answer questions on whether he had recently dismissed his driver and why he did so.

But after the botched operation, ussualy reliable sources say the plotters have vowed to ensure that the young Tamale South MP is kicked out of his seat before the 2008 elections.

Sources say he would be removed from the NDC primaries and everything would be done to ensure that he does not return to the 2008 Parliament.

Haruna is a darling of the northern caucus of the party and enjoys overwhelming endorsement of footsoldeirs for his incisive and brazen efforts at taking on the NPP on cogent issues.

But barely a month ago, the MP publicly chastised the special aide to former president Rawlings and virtually labelled him a liar on radio over Victor Smiths’s claims on HOT FM that NDC MPs have slackened on the ruling party.

Smith had accused his MPs of going soft on the NPP because they have allowed themselves to be induced by the Kufuor administration with cash, cars and other forms of largesse such that many of them have teamed up with the Executive, leaving Ghanaians to suffer.

Victor Smith asserted that the parliamentarians have sold their conscience for a scoop of porridge. “Our MPs are not up and doing because he (President) is giving them appointments and Parliament is not talking. I am disappointed in our MPs.”

“...They are making life comfortable for them so that they won’t criticize adequately. We can’t wait for Kufuor to spoil the country. A government like this is not fit to be in office,” he said.

On why he thought Ghanaians must not wait till 2008 to exercise their franchise to change the government, assuming that is what they want, Victor Smith countered: “How long does a person live?”

The comments by the Special Aide to the ex-president came barely two weeks after a warning by Rawlings to unleash his aide on the NDC MPs and executives for failing to take on the NPP at the NDC “Family Meeting” at the Coco Beach Hotel.

Victor Smith’s allegations against his party’s MPs were similar to the charges Rawlings unleashed on the party heirarchy at Coco Beach, during which he accused them of taking money from the National Security Minister and his outfit.

But a no-nonsense reaction to Smith’s allegation by Haruna Iddrisu on radio also later saw the party issuing a statement disassociating itself from Smiths’ charges.

Victor Smith, however, hit back, telling the party that he cannot be gagged in anyway by anyone for speaking his mind on issues of national interest and that while he was surprised by the NDC's reaction to his comments.

In his view, the executives ought to know that the NDC constitution does not debar him from voicing out his private concerns on national issues.