Nepotism claim: NDC is hurt Mahama’s bauxite concession deal has been revoked – Nana B

The National Youth Organiser of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye (Nana B) has dismissed claims by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that President Akufo-Addo is running a “family and friends” government, ABC News can report.

He suggested that the opposition NDC came up with the allegations because they are very bitter that the government has taken steps to cancel the concession agreement that gave the brother of former President Mahama, Ibrahim Mahama, access to a large proportion of Ghana’s bauxite.

He believes it is a deliberate tactic by the NDC to forcibly hang the tag of nepotism, an act Mahama institutionalised whiles in power, around the neck of the NPP government, in a bid to distract them from their good works.

“Considering all that he has said and out of all the names he has mentioned, which one of them have you heard or seen the president giving the state’s asset to as former President John Dramani Mahama did during his incumbency.

“John Mahama handed over Ghana’s bauxite deposit worth billions of dollars to his brother, Ibrahim Mahama and that is even more serious,” he argued to buttress his point that the NDC did worst things whiles in government.

The NDC’s National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, Tuesday, accused the Akufo-Addo government of running an administration full of family, friends and close associates at a press conference.

The opposition party highlighted 51 names believed to be relatives and cronies of President Akufo-Addo, Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, relatives of the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, among other top government officials, claiming they have occupied various positions by virtue of their association with the government officials.

However, reacting to the claims by the NDC’s Communications Officer, Nana B opined that Sammy Gyamfi, who is a former Communications Officer at Exton Cubic, Ibrahim Mahama’s company, has been personally affected by the takeover of the bauxite concession from Ibrahim Mahama by government.

This, he noted, is the motivation behind the malicious agenda to propagate the unsubstantiated claims.

“The Gentleman [Sammy Gyamfi] who just spoke was the spokesperson for Ibrahim Mahama so I believe he is speaking out of bitterness. Even if what he is saying is anything to go by, have you heard that Ghana’s bauxite has been given to any of the president’s family members?

“Have you heard that any member of the president’s family has worked and not paid taxes, or issued 44 bounced cheques? We are all aware of what has happened in this country during their tenure,” he said.