Stonebwoy Stadium Saga: How A Plus, Arnold clashed over NSA boss 'grilling'

Chaos erupted on United Showbiz on Saturday, February 10, when two entertainment pundits, Kwame A Plus and Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo clashed over the inquiry of the NSA boss at a recently held PAC hearing.

It all started when Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo, came to the defence of the National Sports Authority (NSA) boss, Professor Peter Twumasi, over the controversy surrounding the amount paid by Stonebwoy for using the Accra Sports Stadium for his 5th Dimension concert in December 2023.

Arnold, on the show hosted by MzGee, said that the NSA boss was unfairly treated by the public, especially MP Sam Nartey George, who questioned him at the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on Monday, February 5, 2024.

He explained that the hearing was not about the actual amount paid by Stonebwoy, but rather the monies that were paid to the accounts of the Kumasi chapter of the NSA instead of the Accra chapter.

According to him, Stonebwoy paid in installments, and the first payment of GH¢70,000 was made into the Kumasi account.

However, the NSA boss admitted that Stonebwoy paid GH¢70,000 into that account but made a mistake by not disclosing that that was not the only amount paid by Stonebwoy.

Without mincing words, Arnold said that the NSA boss was treated unfairly by the public and deserved an apology.

This submission did not go down well with Kwame A Plus, who questioned why Peter Twumasi deserved an apology for his treatment at the PAC meeting.

He said the NSA was at fault for not disclosing the actual amount paid by Stonebwoy when questioned and berated Arnold for attempting to defend their blunder.

Arnold stuck to his stance, insisting that the inquiry was specific to the accounts of the Kumasi chapter and not about the amount Stonebwoy said.

A Plus finally backed down but said Arnold was making a mistake by defending the NSA as the body did not deserve any apology.

"Today, you’re being emotional on this particular issue, I’m not going to continue because I don't want to discredit you… but I think that you are rather being unfair to the people of Ghana.

“Those two people (the NSA executive) do not deserve to be public servants… we will leave it at that,” he concluded.

Background

Stonebwoy, a popular Ghanaian Dancehall artiste, used the Accra Sports Stadium for his 5th Dimension Concert on December 22, 2023.

The issue surfaced when the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament questioned the NSA boss on February 6, 2024, over allegations of mismanagement of funds.

The NSA boss said that Stonebwoy paid GH₵70,000 for the stadium, but this was challenged by Stonebwoy's manager, Chief Stylz, who said that he paid more than GH₵100,000.

A sports journalist, Muftawi Ibrahim, and an MP, Sam George, claimed that the fee was GH₵169,000.

The NSA was also accused of diverting some of the revenues to its Kumasi branch, instead of its main account.

The NSA's accounts had been garnished by the Bank of Ghana in December due to unpaid taxes of over GH₵15 million.

The committee is expected to summon other members of Stonebwoy's team to testify on the matter.

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