Obed Asamoah Must Be Vetted Before Contesting

Action Forum of the Ashanti Region branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has urged Dr Obed Asamoah to be vetted by the party's vetting committee and cleared of any impropriety before he contests the position of National Chairman of the party.

A statement issued in Kumasi and signed by Mr. A.K. Mensah, Chairman and Mr. Asamoah Atuahene, Co-ordinator of the Forum said Dr Asamoah must clarify the whereabouts of the 100 million cedis he alleged was stolen from his house by his police guards.

The Forum said as Chairman of the Finance Committee of the party, Dr. Asamoah should be cleared of all doubt before attempting to contest the elections.

The Forum said Dr Asamoah had on several occasions been quoted as saying that the NDC had no money with him and therefore asked whether as the Finance Committee Chairman he never received, kept and disbursed money entrusted to him by the NDC.

The statement quoted the former Attorney General as having claimed in Tamale at the inaugural meeting of the Re-organisation Committee that some people collected money from him for party activities but did not use it and asked him to name the people.

The Forum wondered whether Dr Asamoah as Chairman of the Finance Committee was telling the truth about his handling of party money and whether he had accounted for all funds given to him.

The statement wanted to know the whereabouts of the over 200 pick-ups the party ordered for the 2000 elections and queried whether the pick-ups belonged to the party or individuals.

The Forum accused Dr Asamoah of having some influence on the supply of vehicles to some individuals in the regions who were campaigning for his National Chairmanship aspirations and asked whether other aspirants to national positions on the executive committee had the same access.

The statement said in trying to rally all NDC members to "Fit under the umbrella" for the 2004 elections, the credibility of its leaders would come into sharp focus.

"As a party, we must be mindful of the current political atmosphere in the country on issues of probity and accountability. Should the issues raised by Action Forum come up in future on the national platform none should think that it will be wished away. Ghanaians will be interested in them."

The Forum said it would therefore be more honourable for the present leaders of the NDC to address these concerns.