Loose cannon and embattled Assin North Member of Parliament (MP), Kennedy Agyapong was in his element last Friday morning, when he reconfirmed the long held truth that the reigns of the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are in the control of the Akyem Mafia.
Gabby Otchere-Darko, a cousin of Nana Akufo-Addo, the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was named as the leader of the NPP— who has been calling the shots in the opposition party.
He mentioned Nana Akomea, another Akyem as the decision makers in the party, and added the two are being aided by ex-Minister for Information Oboshie Sai-Coffie to run the NPP.
Mr. Agyapong’s revelation vindicates Dr. Arthur Kennedy, a leading member of the NPP, who authored the book titled “Chasing the Elephant into the Bush- The Politics of Complacency”, in which he assigned reasons why the party led by Nana Akufo-Addo lost the elections.
Coincidentally, Dr. Kennedy in 2008, held the same position as Nana Akomea during the 2008 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
The main reason he assigned for the defeat was that campaign direction and finances which were taken over by family members of Akufo-Addo and the Akyem Mafia— people who come from the hometown of the flag bearer.
According to Dr. Kennedy for Akufo-Addo to win the presidency then the Akyem abscess most be lanced. “..to get to the presidency, Nana Addo must look beyond his family and the Akyem Mafia,” Arthur Kennedy wrote.
Mr. Agyepong’s outburst of last Friday, confirms Dr. Kennedy’s assertion of the hold that the Akyem Mafia still has on the NPP and is likely to lead to another defeat for the NPP flag bearer.
The Akyem Mafia is believed to consist of personalities like Bumpty Akufo-Addo, Ken Ofori Atta, Yaw Amfo Kwakye, Gabby Asare Otchere Darko, nana Fredua Agyeman, Nana Asante Bediatuo, Nana Yaa Ofori Atta and others.
Some party members believed they actually were in-charge of affairs and formed a stone wall around Akufo-Addo, giving credence to rumours that an Akufo-Addo cabinet would be made up of only the Akyems with the Ashanti’s being sidelined. The mafia is said to have operated in the Danquah Institute which was formed shortly after Nana Akufo-Addo became flag bearer of NPP and was headed by Mr. Otchere-Darko who had hijacked and run the 2008 campaign. It became the Communication wing of the NPP.
Some members of the cabal owned and operated Data Bank, which received, controlled and disbursed finances donated to the NPP. Data Bank is owned by Ken Ofori Atta, a Cousin of Nana-Addo.
In 2008, there were claims within NPP circles that the mafia had shared cabinet and all other government positions to themselves and cronies even when the party had not won.
Is the proverbial ostrich burying its head in the soil before its enemy or the Akyem mafia simply albatross? Obviously bitter that he has been left in the lurch at a time when he most needed the support and assurance of the NPP, Mr. Agyapong, who has many times boasted about his generous financial donations to NPP, had no choice but to drop the clanger that the NPP is not worth dying for.
He indicated that contrary to the support that he should have been given for his recent genocidal diatribe, innocently made to bolster the spirit of his party, Mr. Otchere-Darko, holding the NPP in his tow drafted a resolution that rather distanced the party from his gaffe.
Mr. Agyapong was speaking on “Adom FM” in reaction to an allegation made against him by the Central Regional Minister, Madam Ama Benyiwa-Doe that his genocidal exhortations led to some Fantes attacking their Ewe neighbours in Ekumfi-Nyarkwa.
He whined that NPP as a party could not come to his aide, to condemn what he believed was an irresponsible utterance. He, characteristically, did not spare Mad. Benyiwa-Doe, as he attacked her academic credentials, asserting that President Mills has done a disservice to the well-endowed people of the Central Region by foisting Mad. Benyiwa-Doe on them as regional minister.
Nana Akomea, who also hails from the Eastern Region and doubles as Nana Akufo-Addo’s campaign Communication Director and MP for Okaikoi South was not spared the lance for being paramount in the party’s decision to turn its back on Mr. Agyepong.
He wondered why Nana Akomea could join those who betrayed him, when he Agyepong provided him with employment upon graduation from University.
“Go and ask Nana Akomea, when he finished university, he was working for me”, he told Kofi Adoma, host of the programme “Dwaso Nsem”
According to him, the NPP executives made him understand that “Gabby is the party leader and Oboshie Sai is his assistance”
For this reason, he said this people could write a statement disassociating the party from his comments made in the name of the party.
Oboshie Sai had her share of Mr. Agyepong’s attack when he said she did nothing when NII Lante Vanderpuijeone of the president Mills’ staffers, used people in his house at the Odododiodio Constituency to beat up Gas and Akans during the recent past Biometric Registration exercise.
“Oboshie Sai you sat there in Accra and Nii Lante used his family house members to beat up Gas and Akans and you never said anything until I made that comment,” spurted Mr. Agyepong.
He said even though Oboshie was a Ga, he had to organize resources like vehicle and money for people to go round the registration centres to monitor the process.
“Oboshie you are more Ga than me”, he noted but asked if Mr. Otchere-Darko belonged to the NPP more than he Agyapong did.
Mr. Agyepong told the host that he had decided to keep his mouth shut and deal with the court case on his genocidal utterances, and refrain from having anything to do with the NPP because “they are not worth dying for”.
When Akomea was reached for his reaction, he said Agyepong’s claim that he had worked for him upon graduating from university was a joke.
He debunked Agyepong’s claim that the party had deserted him, saying that in spite of the party’s position that it was not part of the genocidal declarations, it had provided support for him during his detention at the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) and the police Headquarters, as well as the legal services.
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