5 top NDC officials have confessed to receiving double salaries - Wontumi

The retained Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, is alleging that some top officials from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), have confided in him that, they received double salaries under former President John Dramani Mahama.

Mr. Boasiako, popularly called Chairman Wontumi, was speaking at the regional delegates congress held at Ejura in the Ashanti region on Saturday to elect regional executives of the party.

The outspoken politician told the gathering that, the top officials came to see him so he will plead on their behalf because they did not want to go to prison for receiving double salaries.

The CID has begun a probe of the officials involved. Some of the names mentioned are Alban Bagbin, MP for Nadowli West in the Upper West Region; ET Mensah, one of the ‘three wise men’ under Mahama’s presidency and former MP for Ningo Prampram; Haruna Iddrisu, former Minister of Employment and Labour Relations and MP for Tamale South, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, former Petroleum Minister and MP for Ellembelle in the Western Region and Nii Lantey Vanderpuye and former Youth and Sports Minister and MP for Odododiodioo Constituency.

Meanwhile, some of the mentioned names have denied any wrongdoing. Commenting on the saga for the first time, Chairman Wontumi said, ‘’about five days ago, some five top NDC officials came to me to plead for leniency for receiving double payments.

They came to me and confessed and asked me to go plead on the behalf so the issue is resolved internally because they have realized that, the ruling NPP will take them to court and possibly jail them.’’

Although he failed to mention the names of the five top officials, the regional chairman said, they are willing to refund the money but ‘’I told them to go and pay the money to the police because they erred in organizing a press conference to deceive Ghanaians that they never received double payments.’’