Deputy Minister Accused Of Bribery

Mr. Daniel Dugan, Deputy Minister for Women and Children Affairs has been accused of bribing a section of NPP Executives at Shai-Osudoku Constituency to vote for him as the next parliamentary candidate.

The story so hot on the coal pot has it that the honourable Dugan sprayed bales of cloth and cash in these tough economic times on the laps of party executives at Shai-Osudoku constituency with such flare, pomp and pageantry ostensibly to woo them over to his camp.

The deputy minister is also accused of holding secret meetings with polling station chairpersons, and instigating them not to accept the imposition of Hon. Gloria Akkufo on the constituency by Party Headquarters.

In a petition dated October 5, 2007 to the National Chairman of the NPP Peter Mac Manu by Mr. Hans Nartey constituency organizer and purportedly signed by Women’s Organizer Grace Teiko Tetteh, Mr. Isaac Amanor, Treasurer and Felix Safo, the Constituency Youth Organizer, appealed to the party to hold Dugan in check.

“Sir, to our uttermost surprise honourable Dugan held separate meetings with polling station chairmen, instigating them tote effect that the national Headquarters wanted to impose Hon. Akkufo on the constituency and that, they should resist it,” Hans Nartey who is also coordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme at East Dangbe District wrote.

According to the petition, at separate meetings he held at both Shai and Osudoku Areas, the deputy minister bribed them with half piece of cloth and ¢100,000 each. He further instigated them to boycott any acclamation ceremony should their request fail, the petition continued.

The petition said, Hon. Akkufo was the most appealing candidate to be presented to the electorate because, there is no single village in the constituency that did not know her.

Nartey and his group noted that Dugan was part of Akkufo’s campaign team in 2004, and therefore knows the clout of her popularity in the constituency, and should subsequently be allowed to contest the primaries.

THE SUN’s investigations discovered that most of the names which appeared on the petition as signatories, had nothing to do with it whatsoever.

When quizzed about the petition and its signatories, coordinator Nartey said he did not want to speak on the petition. THE SUN then drew his attention to the fact that some so-called signatories have denied ever signing the petition, he claimed that does not recall the particular petition the paper was referring to because he has written quite a number in the past month.

Youth organizer Felix Safo told THE SUN that he was not privy to the content of the petition, neither did he sign it and so he has nothing to do with it.