MP threatens to sue Portuphy

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Bunkpurugu in the Northern Region, Solomon Namliit Boar, has told DAILY GUIDE that he would sue the national chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kofi Portuphy, for branding him as a violent person and also accusing him of actively participating in a violence allegedly unleashed on NDC members a day before the by-election in Talensi.

“I was completely shocked to wake up this morning to read in the newspapers that the national chairman of the NDC and some bigwigs of the party had held a press conference at Bolgatanga and mentioned my name together with one Alhaji Rashid, as the people who led violent attacks on some innocent members of the NDC on Monday, July 6,” he said. He added that it was just a ploy to justify the violence they (NDC members) rather visited on peace-loving NPP members because they (NDC) knew that they are in power and that the police could not do anything to them.

“My brother, I am totally shocked for the national chairman to mention my name as one of the main architects of the violence at Talensi because where I was stationed to campaign and be our party’s agent – that’s Kolpeliga – was nowhere near any of the towns he mentioned as places where the said violence took place,” Mr Boar explained.

According to the MP, Mr Portuphy had alleged at the press conference that the said violence took place at Dakoto, Wakli, Bapulugo and Pusunamango but “I was stationed at Kolpeliga in the far east of the constituency to campaign for our candidate and also be the party’s agent there so how could I have been in any of the towns he mentioned to be involved in the despicable violence?”

He noted, “This is a vile propanganda against my person because the NDC just wants to drag in a big fish at their press conference just to throw dust into people’s eyes and also to justify their violent acts in Talensi.”

The Bunkpurugu MP said even one of the NDC party agents at Talensi, one Foster Asante, commended him at the collation centre as someone who had peaceful overtures and that if all party agents were like him (Boar), there would always be peace at polling stations.

“I want the NDC national chairman to use the same platform to unreservedly apologise to me, my constituents and my party for dragging my name in the mud and imputing such disgraceful tag to me and the people of my constituency because by reference, the NDC chairman has said the people of Bunkpurugu are violent; otherwise I will be instructing my lawyers to drag him before court to prove the allegation made against me,” he threatened.