A New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential hopeful, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku has been compelled by circumstances to issue a statement denying allegations that he squandered monies allocated to him by the party during the 2012 electioneering campaign, as head of the party’s security.

In a statement issued in Accra, Dr Apraku, who has expressed interest in leading the NPP as its flagbearer in the 2016 presidential elections, said “my attention has been drawn to the fact that some character assassins within the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and their rented press are cooking up statements ostensibly to discredit and denigrate my reputation.”

The statement was issued under the hand of one Odiamon Kwadwo Abobra, who described himself as aide to Dr. Konadu Apraku, Campaign Manager for Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 polls.

Dr Apraku had earlier contested the NPP primary to elect a flagbearer for the 2008 elections and had less than 20 votes out of over 600 delegates at the party’s congress at the University of Ghana, Legon in 2007.

Though he failed to disclose the name of a single individual or group of persons supposedly spreading what he claimed to be falsehood, the former Member of Parliament for Offinso-North said, “I want to state categorically that Akufo-Addo has not given me any money – not even one cedi in respect of security meetings held after the December 7th 2012 general elections.

“It is even alleged that Akufo-Addo gave me money for his campaign, which I used for my personal interest” and so “some snake-tongued persons within the party have been hired to detract me from pursuing my agenda.”

The man (Dr Apraku), who speaks with an American accent after his sojourn in that country, however believed that “their (referring to his supposed detractors) hatred is that they feel threatened in my decision to run for the flagbearership slot of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the 2016 general elections.”

But the former Minister of Trade and Industry during the previous Kufuor administration was confident that “they will not succeed.”

These claims by Dr Apraku have however raised concerns in his own party, with some questioning the propriety in his claims that not even a cedi was allocated to him after the elections.

Many wondered what programme or activity he wanted money to be allocated to him for at a time when the elections were over.

He dared his supposed detractors to contact the 2012 presidential candidate of the party to ascertain from him (Akufo-Addo) whether he indeed advanced any money to him, noting, “I have not received any money from Akufo-Addo.”

The former minister was therefore of the strongest conviction that “undoubtedly, those publications have no basis and that it is a scheme well calculated by some desperate persons of the New Patriotic Party to tarnish my image.”

It was not clear where Dr Apraku heard these allegations from, but he had since been speaking to several radio stations for the last couple of weeks trying strenuously to wage a self-defence campaign ahead of the NPP presidential contest next year.

He warned that “the conduct of these persons, if not stopped, would rather cause disunity in the party and disaster to the end.”

Dr Apraku was said to be making strenuous efforts to hit the road on his campaign.

Reports said he made contacts when the party was in court contesting the results of the 2012 elections.