Mahama’s 'shade' about tea directed at Rojo, not me – Kpessa-Whyte

The campaign team of Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whyte who’s an aspiring Parliamentary candidate for Shai-Osudoku says a comment by former President Mahama about tea and biscuit at the national collation Center of the Electoral Commission was shade directed at Rojo Mettle-Nunoo and not Dr. Kpessa-Whyte.

A statement issued by Vincent Larbi, spokesperson for the campaign team of Dr. Kpessa-Whyte said, "My attention has been drawn to a video circulating, in which the former president was commenting on the tea drinking saga at the office of the EC chairperson during the collation of the 2020 presidential results. In the said video, the former president jokingly said he will provide tea for those to be sent to the strongroom.”

The statement further said, “Our opponents in this primaries, having chanced on this video, feels that this is the only opportunity to revive their dead campaign. They have twisted this strong room happening to fit their propaganda, which has been their sole campaign message since this campaign began. After team Kpessa laid the facts bare to the delegates, their propaganda has fallen flat, sinking their campaign completely. It is therefore understandable that they will hold on to this video as their last straw to revive their campaign”.

The statement clarified that Dr. Kpessa-Whyte was not offered tea at the EC strongroom therefore Mahama’s swipe was directed at Rojo Mettle-Nunoo who was the lead agent.

“I wish to state without any equivocation that Dr. Michael Kpessa-Whyte never said anywhere that he drank tea. His partner and the leader of our team said in open court that he went to the EC chair’s office to seek redress to their grievances and at the said office, he, Rojo Mettle-Nunoo was offered tea. How could this be twisted to mean Dr. Kpessa took tea? Clearly, the former president was taking a swipe at Rojo, who in recent times, has been making disparaging comments about the former president”.

Dr. Kpessa-Whyte who is contesting the incumbent MP Linda Akweley Ocloo and a former MP David Asumeng in the Shai Osudoku NDC Parliamentary Primaries entreated all delegates to ignore the propaganda being foisted on Mahama’s comment and hold all contestants to the issues and challenges confronting the people.

In the 2020 Presidential election petition filed by NDC’s Presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama at the Supreme Court, Rojo Mettle- Nunoo and Dr.Kpessa-Whyte who were representatives of the party at the collation Center were blamed for dereliction of duty.

This was after the duo accused the Electoral Commission boss Jane Mensah of ‘tricking’ them to leave the premises to go and see Mr. Mahama after which she announced the results on their blind side.

In one of the instances of cross-examination by Justin Amenuvor, the lead counsel of the Electoral Commission (EC), the former Deputy Health Minister Rojo Mettle-Nunoo said “I was offered tea, I wasn’t offered any biscuit” while he waited for the Electoral Commissioner for clarity on some anomaly observed in some of the results.

The Supreme Court stated in its verdict that Rojo Mettle-Nunoo and Dr.Kpessah Whyte both second and third witnesses respectively for the petitioner John Mahama should rather blame themselves for leaving the National Collation Centre, that, they did not do their job of strict observation of the collation process, therefore, must accept the consequences.

Addressing delegates of the NDC at Ashaley Botwe in Greater Accra Region, on Wednesday as part of a nationwide campaign tour ahead of the NDC’s Presidential Primaries, John Mahama said the party is going to be extra vigilant in 2024 election adding [on lighter note ] that, the party’s representatives at the national collation Center also known as strongroom will be provided their own tea and biscuits.

“We are not going to sleep. We are going to match them at the collation centers. We will be in the collation centers until the last ballot is accounted for we are going to Match them in the EC’s strongroom. This time we don’t want tea we don’t want biscuits. Those we select to go to the strongroom we will give them our own tea and we will buy them digestive Biscuits to go to the strongroom”.

Mr. Mahama strongly stated that packing EC with activists of the ruling New Patriotic Party will not deter the NDC’s resolve to police the election results.

“Because they are afraid of losing the 2024 election they have started putting NPP activists as members of the Electoral Commission so that they can control the referee but when I say it is a Do or Die affair it means that it is a critical election whether they put NPP chairman on the electoral commission we shall match them boot for boot.

We are going to match them at the polling stations we don’t Wana cheat anybody, but we don’t want anybody to cheat us .so we are going to mark them at the polling station and make sure that no extra ballot papers come from somewhere into that ballot box.”

Mr. Mahama charged branch and constituency executives of the NDC to actively get involved in the electoral processes in their respective polling stations and be very vigilant.

“Elections are won or lost at the polling stations… and in all your branches you have polling stations. Vigilance at the polling stations is going to be in your custody. Campaigning in the polling station is going to be in your care; and so we are going to rely on you to make sure that the election in your polling station is going to be free, fair, and transparent. And we are putting in a robust system to be able to transmit out results and you the branch and constituency executives are going to be involved. It is a new system we will come and explain it to you.”