The EGLE Party on Wednesday added its voice to calls on the President to institute a full-scale enquiry into the 25,000-dollar gift that was given to officials and players of the Black Stars by a Nigerian politician after the final World Cup qualifying match last July.
A statement signed in Accra by Alhaji Abdul-Rahaman Jamatutu, Vice Chairman of the party, said the description of the largess, as a gift by officials should be ignored.
"It is most regrettable that less than a year of being in office, the NPP government has been caught in such an 'international corruption'. This has cast serious doubts about the sincerity of the government to its concept of 'zero tolerance for corruption'."
Alhaji Jamatutu referred to former Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia's statement that officials should not accept gifts, as they were bribes and said the party agreed with the statement.
"The EGLE Party is indeed concerned about the new found terminology of 'gifts' for 'bribes'...If this trend continues, then no public official can be accused of corruption in the government of Positive Change as virtually all bribes come in the form of gifts."
The Chairman of the Ghana Football Association announced recently that the Governor of River State in Nigeria gave him 25,000 dollars after the World Cup qualifier with Nigeria in Port Harcourt.
He said he declined to accept it but took it when he was told that the Governor always gave gifts to countries that honoured their matches at Port Harcourt.
The news has triggered a public outcry against the officials and footballers as the public said the Black Stars were bribed. Ghana lost the match 3-0 thus giving Nigeria the ticket to Japan/Korea 2002.
