Mr Davit lied, I never asked him to pay $20,000 to meet the president – Alhaji Sunday

Correspondence from Northern Region

The Northern Regional First Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alhaji Iddrisu Sunday has denied asking the CEO of Pop Diesel and Alafie Food Group, Claude Convincer Davit to pay an amount of $20,000 as a facilitation fee to meet with President Akufo Addo.

Mr Sunday threatened to take legal action against Mr Davit who he described as a "pathological liar".

Mr Davit, in a viral video accused Alhaji Sunday, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Minister of Works and Housing, Asenso Boakye of demanding $20,000 (about Gh¢240,000) as a facilitation fee to meet with the President on his proposed business documents to start a Jetropha plantation in the Northern Region.

He claimed that Alhaji Sunday was the one who told him that the former Deputy Chief of Staff had asked for him to pay the amount and that "Asenso-Boakye's word was final".

However, in response to the allegations, Mr Sunday dismissed the claims by Mr Davit, saying that even though he met him in 2017, their discussions ended "when I advised them to write straight to the Secretariat and also copy the Minister of Trade and Industry and get me the notification from there to help them see what I can do."

The 1st Vice Chairman of the NPP in the Northern Region told GhanaWeb in Tamale on Wednesday that the purpose of Mr Davit's visit to his private office was to seek his political assistance to get their proposal considered by the One District, One Factory Secretariat in Accra.

He noted "The first time I set my eyes on Mr. Davit was in early 2017 when he came to my private office in the North through a young businessman with a proposal on jetropha plantation for the production of biofuel in the Northern Region. The purpose of their visit was to seek political assistance from my outfit to get their proposal considered by the 1D1F Secretariat in Accra.

Our discussion ended when I advised them to write straight to the Secretariat and also copy the Minister for Trade and Industry and get me the notification from there to help them see what I can do. Mr. Davit and his team left my office on the 20th of May 2017 and since then I have never set my eyes on him."

Mr Sunday also dismissed Mr Davit’s claims that he introduced him to the former Deputy Chief of Staff, urging the public to disregard the allegations made by Mr Davit.