TMA boss came into office to amass wealth - MP

After months of wrangling, words of war, accusations and counter accusations between the Member of Parliament for Tema West, Mr. Abraham Ossei-Aidoo and officials of the Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA) which attracted a lot of media attention, the MP has stated that he had been at loggerheads with the TMA especially with its MCE, Mr. Evans Ashong Narh because of the motive with which he came into office.

According to him, the TMA boss came into office with one simple mission; to use his position to win contracts to enrich himself.

Mr. Ossei-Aidoo said this in reaction to reports that the TMA had expelled him from the assembly following his refusal to appear before the Public Relations and Complaints committee of the TMA on all the three occasions he had been invited.

Speaking on Adom FM, a Tema - based radio station, Mr. Aidoo explained that, prior to the nomination of Ashong Narh as the MCE, he and one Ebenezer Kwaku Adjeitei came to his (Ossei-Aidoo) house and asked him to lobby for Adjetey to become the MCE.

He said Ashong Narh told him that when Adjeitei got the post, he would use his position to help him (Ashong Narh) get contracts from the assembly (as he was a contractor) so that the three of them could share all the profit, but he did not agree.

Three days later, he continued, Ashong Narh returned to his house, but this time round, did not go there to lobby for his friend, but to tell him that he should help him (Ashong Narh) rather become the MCE, but again, Ossei Aidoo said, he refused.

Ossei-Aidoo, who is also the Deputy majority leader in parliament, confirmed that it was there that he knew Ashong Narh was not coming with any good intention but to corrupt him.

According to him, that marked the genesis of the misunderstanding between them after he’d assumed office, adding: “I have not been disappointed because everything he has done ever since he assumed office three years ago, points to the fact that he is full of corruption”.

A couple of months ago, the TMA, at one of its ordinary meetings, accused all the four MPs in the municipality of not attending the assembly’s meetings, yet had been collecting their allowances and accused Hon. Aidoo as the worst offender.

The Tema West MP took offence at the accusation and fired back at the assembly, describing it as the most corrupt in the country.

The assembly, feeling its image had been tainted, referred the matter to the Public Relations and Complaints Committee to explain his actions on three occasions, but he refused to comply.

Ever since, press war amidst trading of accusations broke out between them until it came to light that the assembly had finally expelled the deputy majority leader in parliament from the assembly.

The Chronicle could not get the MCE to react to the allegation at the time of filing this report.