Former NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia North constituency, Collins Owusu Amankwah has claimed there's a grand scheme to malign Mireku Duker, Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources. His comment comes on the back of allegation that the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tarkwa Nsuaem is deeply embroiled in illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey. The Chief of Dompim-Pepesa who goes by the name Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV few days ago alleged that Mireku Duker, Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah and the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Chief Executive, Benjamin Kessie engage in galamsey “I know not of any company but I know of the very people who are behind the operations of ‘galamsey’ in my area. First and foremost the Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah is involved. The MP for the area, Tarkwa Nsuaem, Honorable George Mireku-Duker is also involved and the MCE, Benjamin Kessie is also involved I have told you I am not going to disclose my arsenals to you.” “They said they were going to sue, so let them sue. I’ll let out my arsenals at the right time,” he reportedly said on Joy FM. I won't lose focus Mireku Duker has however refuted these claims. "It's an agenda [from] within and without. My own party members are part of it. There is a whole cabal just to bring Mireku Duker down" he told Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo' "I know a lot of people who feel I am a threat to them. That I don't give them the opportunity to do illegal mining and all that, sometimes they do things to derail you. They want you to lose focus; it's part of their strategy. They will accuse you falsely, so you lose focus because they know the effort you're putting in the fight and that is a worry." Grand scheme Collins Owusu Amankwah speaking to this on Peace FM's The Platform programme, condemned the allegation describing it as "sad" "There's a grand scheme to thwart Mireku Duker's efforts…he’s demonstrated openly that he’s committed to winning the galamsey fight. So people just want to malign him so that people will think they are dirty. We need to encourage such people (Mireku Duker) instead of demonizing them. It's sad" he lamented. Listen to him in the video below: