The Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, was forced to eat his words during the Good Morning Ghana programme on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
The deputy minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sissala East, claimed that former President John Dramani Mahama and his appointees acquired state properties, including lands, while he was in office.
“The state assets John Dramani Mahama sold are more than this government. Even the bungalow he lived in as Vice President, when he was leaving, he wrote for that bungalow to be given to him. He bought state lands,” he claimed.
The host of the programme, Dr. Randy Abbey, asked Chinnia after his claim, “Who bought state lands?”
The deputy minister retorted, “Officials of the NDC. They bought a lot of it, including former President Mahama.”
The broadcaster then asked Chinnia to provide evidence of his claim, and he said, “did President Mahama not write a letter for the state to hand over his official residence to him?”
Dr. Abbey then accused the deputy minister of deliberately misleading the public with his claim that Mahama wrote to the government for his official residence to be handed over to him.
He indicated that Mahama told the government to give him the residence as his official accommodation, which he is entitled to, adding that the former president never tried to buy the said residence.
“Please hold on. Please hold on. Please hold on. On the issue of that official residence, we all know the facts. Why are we twisting it? Please, let us respect our audience. You can’t sit on this programme and make a statement to the effect that the former President bought state lands and not prove it. Which land, which state land did he buy? Just tell us,” he asked the deputy minister.
Chinnia could not provide evidence of any state land or asset Mahama bought but insisted, “I would get it (the evidence) to you. He bought state lands. He offered to buy his official residence.”
The broadcaster then rebuked the minister, saying, “He (Mahama) never, ever bought state lands. He never wrote to buy his state bungalow. It didn’t happen.”
After the back-and-forth, the deputy said he did not say Mahama bought state lands but “wanted to buy it.”
Watch the clash in the video below:
Did John Mahama buy state assets? - Dr. Randy engages Hon. Chinnia#GoodMorningGhana #MetroTV pic.twitter.com/ptGkir5xpd
— Metro TV Ghana (@metrotvgh) July 16, 2024
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