I never said Samson Ahi defrauded me – Anane Boateng clarifies

A businessman, Mr Anane Boateng has denied media reports suggesting that he accused Hon. Sampson Ahi, the Member of Parliament for Bodi, of fraud.

According to Anane Boateng, he made monetary payments to Baba Jamal, former Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations under the John Mahama administration in a bid to secure a state land, but not Hon. Ahi as widely reported.

He said Baba Jamal who is also a former Member of Parliament for Akwatia in the Eastern Region collected $100,000 to start negotiations with his colleague, Hon. Sampson Ahi, who is a former deputy Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing.

However, his long wait for the deal to go through proved futile due to Baba Jamal’s failure to disburse the money to Mr. Ahi.

Detailing the controversy about the claims, Anane Boateng said, “Hon. Ahi looked surprised when I disclosed to him that I had given money to Baba Jamal to give to him in order to foster the land transaction but Hon. Ahi seemed to have no idea, so I knew he had not taken any money.”

"I did not give any money to Hon. Ahi; I only met with him after Baba Jamal told me that he had given him some money... I later found out to be false," he said on Accra-based Montie FM, Friday.

The Brong Ahafo Regional Youth Organizer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kwame Baffoe aka “Abronye DC” disclosed this on Oman FM’s political analysis programme 'Boiling Point', Tuesday, 22nd August 2017.

While reacting to the accusation, Hon Ahi explained that he refused to grant Anane Boateng’s wish because his ministry has no authority to commission lands to any individual in the country and, as such, made no attempts at securing the businessman a land.

Mr Anane, who was bent on getting the land further explained that “I gave an additional $100,000 to the chief director at the Ministry, Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu and Alhaji Yakubu Yahya, director of housing when I approached them to inquire about the initial amount I paid to Baba Jamal and the land deal”.

“I promised to give Baba Jamal an equal amount of the initial payment of $100,000 which was meant for Samson Ahi after the land was secured but it turned out that Baba did not fulfil his part of the deal,” he said.