Akufo-Addo Misfires

• Kwesi Pratt, Kwesi Aning & Pamela Bridgewater, Who Reportedly Accuse Him Of Having A Drug Habit Are Not NDC Members

New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Saturday blamed his recent frustrations, emanating from accusations of him as a drug user, on the National Democratic Congress (NDC). But that is a complete misfire as those whose reported accusation of the NPP flagbearer to that effect as published in the recent wikileaks revelations, has accentuated the drug perception of him, are not members of the NDC. On the contrary, two out of his three accusers happen to be close associates of his at various stages of his political life.

Addressing the University of Development Studies TESCON branch at the Wa Campus on Saturday whiles on his ‘Listening Tour’ of the Upper West region, Nana Akufo-Addo told the political gathering that the NDC has targeted his person in a vile political campaign that could not bother him but he would not allow any act of intimidation against him and his supporters in the 2012 elections. Wikileaks reports that Dr Kwesi Aning, Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr and Madam Pamela Bridgewater have all on different occasions accused Nana Akufo-Addo of drug use. No NDC person was mentions in the wikileaks reports as having made any such allegation against the 64-year old NPP flagbearer. To this end it is surprising that outspoken Nana Akufo-Addo who has remained quite on the serious allegation against him in the US diplomatic cables is now trying to blame the NDC for his predicament.

Even though according to the reports, Dr Aning did not mention a specific drug, Mr Kwesi Pratt and Pamela Bridgewater were categorical on marijuana smoking as Nana Akufo-Addo’s inordinate habit.

This is how the US ambassador, Pamela Bridgewater, profiled Nana Akufo-Addo before the 2007 flagbearership contest of the NPP among 17 candidates ahead of the 2008 general elections.

“Nana Akufo-Addo: An ethnic Akyem from the Eastern Region, Akufo-Addo is a formidable contender for the NPP slot. He is respected for his intelligence, political family background, and broad government experience, which includes tenures as Minister of Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is reportedly backed by NPP youth and Akyem businessmen. On the other hand, he has poor organizational skills and often comes across as arrogant and formal, which may not play well with many party activists and Ghanaian voters. His reputation as a womanizer and occasional marijuana smoker may also damage him politically.” The reports also said of Dr Kwesi Aning as follows:

“...When asked about rumors of Akufo-Addo's cocaine use, Aning admitted that Akufo-Addo had used drugs in his younger days, but that was now "under control." He added cryptically that "you can check with German intelligence on that."

This followed quite a comprehensive expose by the security expert on high levels of official corruption and narcotics trafficking involving top government officials in the Kufuor-led NPP government whose names he reportedly mentioned as “NPP MP Kennedy Agyapong, current Kufuor Chief of Staff Kwadwo Mpiani, Akufo-Addo's brother-in-law Raymond Amankwah (who was arrested in May in Brazil for trafficking), and Assistant Commissioner of Police Kofi Boakye (on administrative leave from his position and still pending trial).”

Mr Kwesi Pratt was reported to have pinned down Nana Akufo-Addo on wee smoking but defended him against “an assumption” of cocaine use by him also had this to say in the report:

“When questioned about persistent rumors of Akufo-Addo's own cocaine habit, Pratt admitted that he had personal knowledge of the candidate's drug use, but that it was not cocaine. "Nana used to smoke a lot of marijuana," Pratt said, "and I'm telling you, a lot. Even in the morning, there used to be a cloud around him and you could see that he was high. But I never saw him do cocaine, and I think that is just an assumption people made."

Against this backdrop, The Catalyst wonders if Nana Akufo-Addo’s attempt to play a victim of an NDC personality attack is justifiable.