Tony Aidoo Takes On JJ

...I'm scandalized by his blanket remarks of evil dwafs

The Dagbanis say “when an adult indulges in children’s’ fun, he will end up carrying their drums”.

How apt is the above statement to the unfolding theatrics involving former president Jerry John Rawlings and his onetime hatchet man, now Head of Government Policy Monitoring and Evaluation at the office of the President, Dr. Tony Aidoo.

Former President Rawlings last Thursday at the Manifesto launch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at the Ho Jubilee Park, challenged President John Mahama to get rid of what he described as “old evil dwarfs” within the party.

Noted for his usual one liner zinger, Mr. Rawlings in one of his shortest ever address, told a large crowd of NDC functionaries and sympathizers at the launching of the party’s manifesto at Ho: “There is nothing more oppressive than when a political leader refuses to see the actions of negative elements around him…

“There is nothing more rewarding than when a political leader begins to see the negative items of these people. It means there is hope” adding that: “I believe our President is beginning to see for himself, the actions of these same old evil dwarfs. The president needs help and we must pray to God to give him the strength and courage to put his foot down and do what he needs to do…” Jerry Rawlings told the bemused crowd.

But reacting to Mr. Rawlings’ latest expletive, his once trusted aide and a former deputy defence minister, Dr. Tony Aidoo, on Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji last Saturday said, he feels “personally scandalized” by his former boss’ unending disparaging comments and threatens to approach president Mahama, if the NDC founder may have disclosed to him those he refers to as greedy bastards and evil dwarfs.

According to him, a careful scrutiny of the former President’s words shows that he (Rawlings) may have told President Mahama who the corrupt people are because he seems to know them, thus; “exonerate himself from those blanket statements” and also “salvage” his “conscience”. “Am I one of those greedy bastards’ because I need to salvage my conscience? I don’t know may be somewhere along the line, I might have done something that is tantamount to corruption…I need to exonerate myself from the blanket statement of greedy bastards, but until then I am scandalized”. Tony Aidoo fumed. The influential NDC party founder has in the past used several expletives such as; Greedy bastards, babies with Sharp teeth”, ‘Rotten planks and “traitors” to describe unnamed party leaders, and demanded their dismissal.

But Rawlings’ ‘boy’, Dr. Tony Aidoo seemed to have had enough of his former boss’ never-ending name-calling when he retorted

“There is rule of law in this country and when you have concrete evidence on corruption, you go and prosecute it. So that we do not have the situation where the very corrupt will turn round and point accusing fingers at innocent people as if they are the ones who are corrupt.”

According to the tough-talking Tony Aidoo; “the founder of the NDC himself has for the past three and half years, and I’ve been silent over this-been making allegations of corruption against the NDC; they’re greedy bastards and dwarfs and I feel personally scandalized…

“I feel personally scandalized because it is a general statement that implicates me. It implicates me to the point at which somebody will have the sheer audacity to publish on Ghanaweb that I have an ammunition factory in South Africa, I’ve two mansions valued at $1.5m…when over the past 15years, I have been struggling to put up a project at East Legon…so I’m scandalized. But then I believe the founder, as he said the current President is putting his foot down, has obviously managed to disclose to the President those who are the greedy bastards and I have every intention of asking President Mahama; ‘I’m I one of those greedy bastards’ because I need to salvage my conscience. I don’t know may be somewhere along the line, I might have done something that is tantamount to corruption…I need to exonerate myself from the blanket statement of greedy bastards, but until then I am scandalized…,” Tony Aidoo stated.