Victor Smith never diverted campaign cash – Aide

Victor Smith, the National Democratic Congress’ parliamentary candidate for Abuakwa North in 2016, did not misappropriate monies meant for campaign activities in last year’s polls, Ussif Umar, Special Aide to Mr Smith, has said.

According to him, the former Ghana High Commissioner to the UK financed most of the campaign activities with his own resources, contrary to claims that he squandered party cash thereby starving executives of the party in the consistency, hence their inability to conduct an effective campaign.

His comment follows claims by a leading member of the NDC in the constituency, Alhaji Dan Baba, that Mr Smith diverted cash meant for the NDC’s campaign into his building project.

Speaking in an interview with Accra News’ Nana Agyen Barima on Wednesday March 22, Alhaji Baba said: “Victor Smith never worked to ensure victory for the NDC.

“I am telling you on authority that the about 1000 pieces of clothes that came for us to share, he and the people around him shared 70 pieces among themselves. Again the cutlasses, sewing machines, hair dryers, and Wellington boots that were sent to the constituency were never accounted for.

“I believe that if you need a victory in the election, your wife wouldn’t speak against the electorate, especially members of the party, but in this case whenever party members visited Victor at home, his wife would tell them to go and find some work to do to feed themselves. How can you say this to the people your husband wants them to vote for him?

“At this point we want the entire world to know that Victor Smith failed to work in the constituency to ensure victory for the NDC. Before becoming the parliamentary candidate we knew the house that he had started putting up several years ago. Within a few months of becoming the candidate, he completed the house.”

Asked if he was suggesting Victor Smith used party cash to complete his building, Alhaji Baba responded: “Yes, because we all know he could not complete the house but was able to do so immediately after becoming the parliamentary candidate. We are calling on him to come out and account to us.”

However, responding to the allegation on Accra News Wednesday, Ussif Umar said: “It is not true that Victor Smith diverted the party’s cash and other resources. He rather used his own resources and pocket money to finance the party’s campaign in the elections. Those machetes and sewing machines that they are talking about, it was Mr Smith himself who bought them with his own money.”

He further stated that the constituency executives making the claims had wanted to steal the items just as they did in the 2012 elections and that was the reason Mr Smith failed to entrust the distribution of the items to them.

“In the 2012 elections, some cloths were given to the constituency executives to be shared to the electorate, but the constituency executives did not share the cloths to the people; they rather kept them in their homes and later sold them. They wanted to do the same thing in the 2016 polls but this time round Ambassador Smith said no, he was not going to give it to the constituency executives.

“Rather than giving the items to the constituency executives some of whom are thieves, we opted to use them in training the youth...”