Leaked bribery tape: Paramount Chief of Talensi asked to resign and apologise

The Upper East Regional Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area to resign as a Council of State member and apologize to the people of Talensi for conniving with the former Upper East Regional Minister and former Minister of State at the Presidency, Rockson Bukari, to bribe a journalist in order to kill a story.

The Regional Youth Organiser, Abraham Azumah Lambon, who was speaking at the handing over ceremony of the Tertiary Education Institutions Network (TEIN), an NDC students’ wing of Bolgatanga Polytechnic, wondered why a Council of State member who advises the President would connive with the Chinese against his people and not even care for the lives of his subjects.

Rockson Ayine Bukari who was a Minister of State at the Presidency and former Upper East Regional Minister resigned from his position after an audio content of him pleading with the Starr FM reporter Edward Adeti to kill a story of alleged bribery by a mining company operating in Gbani in the Talensi district of the Upper East region called Shaanxi went viral on social media.

The Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, issued a press release which said the President had accepted the resignation of the Minister of State at the Presidency in charge of Special Duties and wished him well in his future endeavors.

Part of the letter said “this was after Hon. Rockson Bukari had submitted his letter of resignation to the President Monday 29th April, 2019, because he had “taken note of the tape circulating I the media “and had, therefore, taken the decision to resign “in order not to allow the tape disrupt the focus of government in delivering on his mandate”. The President accepted his resignation and wished him “well in his future endeavors”.

The Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area, Tongrana Kugbilsong-Nanlebgtang, whose name was mentioned by Rockson Bukari as one of the people who have been supporting the Shaanxi Ghana Company limited issued a press statement to disassociate himself from the comments made in the tape.

Part of the letter statement read: “The Tongraan is unaware of any matter that has to be “killed “in favour of Shaanxi mining Ghana limited for which he has any interest. The Tongraan does not and will not support any illegal conduct by any of his subjects or company operating in the area or stand in the way of genuine exposure of wrong doing by the media”

But Mr. Lambon who was speaking to a charged crowd of students who are affiliated to the opposition national democratic congress said Hon. Rockson has rather been resigned and not resigned. Mr. Lambon Abraham as part of his reasons for the call on the Tongraan to resign said: “How can you have a leader who is advising the President of the Republic of Ghana conniving with Chinese say that his people should die, they shouldn’t talk about it. That they should bribe the journalist to cover the fight against corruption because he is supplying them with fuel?”

The newly elected TEIN executives promised to work hard to help the NDC regain power from the NPP.