Anyone can hire Osu Castle for wedding receptions - NPP MP

Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia North constituency in the Ashanti region, Hon Collins Owusu Amankwah is the latest to deny claims that a pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) militia group known as De-Eye is a militia group being sponsored and trained by the Akufo-Addo led government.

An exposé by investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni details the existence of a private militia trained at the Christiansborg Castle, an extension of the seat of government.

But Hon Owusu Amankwah commenting on the issue said the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) through Manasseh Azure sought to tarnish the reputation of government and the President Nana Akufo-Addo. He said the video is a “malicious” misrepresentation of facts and lack evidence to support the narrative.

Speaking in an interview with Metro FM, a local radio station in Kumasi on Friday, the Manhyia North lawmaker disclosed that he was part to the De-Eye group when it was formed barely two years now, putting on record that; the group is a company that is into finding jobs for young unemployed persons.

"The Osu Castle, where De-Eye trains, is not a security zone as claimed in the video. De-Eye is a group of young men and women dressed up in white shirts and black suits converging on the Christiansburg Castle in Osu in the belief that jobs will be found for them”, said Hon Amankwah.

Quizzed on why De-Eye group do not organize meetings anywhere apart from the annex of the seat of the president, he said the Christiansborg Castle, popularly known as the Osu Castle, is not a security zone; and that people can hire the facility for social events.

“Even you, can hire the place for your wedding reception”, he told Kwasi Amakye on Metro News.