'I haven't diverted public items for personal use' - Bibiani MCE clarifies

The Municipal Chief Officer (MCE) for the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipal Assembly in the Western North Region, Paul Andoh, has stated that he has not diverted items or goods meant for the Assembly to be distributed to some specific residents and farmers in the various villages and towns within the municipality for his personal use.

The MCE urged the general public, particularly the residents of the area, to disregard the so-called group calling itself Concerned Citizens of Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai's spurious claim that he diverted public items to his private residence at Sefwi Bekwai.

He stressed that the claims by the group are false and an attempt to throw dust into the eyes of the public.

He further stated that the items in question were offloaded at “my premises when we could not get to where we agreed to offload them initially due to the car challenge and the owner’s willingness to take the car on the said date.

"But there was no cause for alarm and these items were duly received by the Assembly, which are yet to be distributed to the beneficiaries.”

The MCE added that the report by the youth group stated that the interrogations and arrest of a worker at the Regional Coordinating Council, who is perceived to have disclosed information about the distribution of items to the various assemblies within the region, and whose phone was subsequently confiscated after he was taken to his hometown with a warrant, is alarming.

Paul Andoh, the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai MCE, also accused his own party members –the New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by the Constituency Chairman, Kwame Asamoah, popularly known as Agege, of masterminding these allegations against him, ostensibly to defame him in the public as a means of achieving a political score.

According to the MCE, when the allegations of the news of the missing items broke, Kwame Asamoah, who doubles as the Presiding Member (PM) of the Assembly, quickly granted an interview to a local radio station in the area, wrongly criticizing him of diverting the items, without even cross-checking from him.

He noted that Asamoah has been an ardent critic of him, stressing that the constituency chairman has been working against him since he assumed office, stating that this is because he was also interested in the MCE position.

"When they were contesting me in the MCE position and after my confirmation, the Presiding Member proceeded to the EC officer in Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai to ascertain the result of the confirmation. But he failed to push his agenda," the MCE said.

The MCE further urged the general public to desist from giving listening ears to the troublemakers in the area and rather come together to join forces with him to work hard to bring developmental projects and programmes to the area.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai Municipal Assembly has corroborated the defense of the MCE, stating that “We wish to use the medium to state that the items in question were duly received by the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai-Municipal Assembly on August 15, 2023, and have since been shared for later distribution.”

The Assembly added, in its statement, that it is therefore curious to hear that the MCE is alleged to have appropriated these items for his personal use.

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AE