Rawlings angry over $5m 'bribe'

Former President Rawlings and his wife Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings have issued a strongly-worded statement against suggestions from a section of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) that they had demanded monetary inducement in order to ditch the breakaway National Democratic Party (NDP).

The former First Lady condemned what they described as 'errant personalities” in the NDC who are working to “soil the reputation of the former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings”.

The statement, which was issued from the office of former President Rawlings on Tuesday, sought to clear the air about the Rawlingses' disregard for monetary consideration in the political paths they had chosen.

“Our attention has been drawn to several publications on various media platforms insinuating that former President Jerry John Rawlings and Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings have been influenced by huge monetary inducement to withdraw their support for the newly certified National Democratic Party (NDP) in favor of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)”, the statement read.

“President and Mrs. Rawlings do not need any influence whatsoever to decide the political course they wish to take. They have forever three decades followed their personal political convictions of integrity and will not allow that to be destroyed by cheap monetary influences”, the statement emphasized.

Last Thursday, a newspaper loyal to the NDC, The Al-Hajj, reported that the former First Lady, Nana Konadu, who had been likened to the breakaway NDP, demanded $5 million (about GHC 10 million) from the ruling party as her pre-condition to stop her ambition of joining the NDP.

The editor of the Al-Hajj newspaper, Alhaji Iddrisu Bature, who was apparently confident of his claims because of his unbridled access to the top hierarchy of the NDC, claimed that Nana Konadu made those demands when mediators from the NDC tried to discuss her from backing the NDP whose existence appeared to threaten the ranks of the ruling party.

The office of Jerry Rawlings was obviously not amused about this allegation which it described as a complete fabrication.

“We wish to inform members of the general public that these reports are a complete fabrication, calculated for selfish political gain at the expense of the hard-won reputation of President and Mrs. Rawlings”, stated the office of the former President.

“This office wishes to caution such errant media and personalities who have taken it upon themselves to soil the reputation of the former President and the former First Lady to desist from such devious acts”, it indicated.

Nana Konadu personally dismissed the allegation last weekend.

At the sixth anniversary celebration of the Women Encounter Fellowship International in Tema, Nana Konadu stated, “It was sad for me. They write things that I do not even recognize myself in the papers. Nobody has spoken to me about anything like that. I haven't told anybody about anything like that. But the man (author of the story) was emphatic. He wants to destroy the purpose for which God has brought me onto this earth, and I will not agree to it”.

The NDP was founded by disgruntled members of the NDC who believed the Mill/Mahama government had failed to live up to the aspirations and ideals of the NDC. Indeed, the formation of the NDP was the high point of the depth of discord within the ruling party.

Since its formation, the former First Lady had been linked to the NDP and it was believed that Nana Konadu could soon be chosen as the party's flag bearer to compete against the NDC and other opposition parties.

The Rawlingses had been the strongest critic of the NDC government. The relationship between the former first family and the NDC had been extremely sour since the party assumed power in 2009, and there was no sign that the acrimony would abate.