Investigate ‘$20 million’ NDC headquarters if you like – Asiedu Nketia dares critics

General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketia has dared anybody suspicious of the cost of the party’s headquarters to trigger investigations into how it was funded.

According to Mr Nketia, the NDC undertook a gradual process of building the “National Party Headquarters” and that if anybody suspects anything untoward, the person can proceed to initiate investigations.

“We file our accounts at the Electoral Commission, there are state investigative institutions, so anybody who doesn’t understand anything about the building and they think we are doing anything wrong they can go and cause the investigative institutions to find out the same way I am demanding now”, he told Winston Amoah on 3FM’s Sunrise, Tuesday.

The minority in parliament is demanding probe into the purchase of 275 buses at the cost of $11.4 million by the Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Freddie Blay, in the run-up to the party’s National Delegates’ Conference in Conference last Saturday.

The minority alleged the actions of Mr Blay, who is also the board chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation amounts to “historic levels of profligacy” which ought to be investigated.

But a historian and head of Institute of the African Studies at the University of Ghana, Dr. Ebenezer Ayesu, slammed the NDC saying it lacks the moral authority to do so.

He argued that the NDC failed to answer questions regarding the source of funding for their party headquarters in Accra which was alleged to cost $20 million.

But speaking on the issue on 3FM Tuesday, Mr. Nketia argued the comments of Dr. Ebenezer Ayesu were misplaced and advised that he pays attention to details.

He explained the media reports on the purported cost of the facility were mere propaganda orchestrated by some members the New Patriotic Party, then in opposition, just to give the NDC a bad name.

“In fact, it took Freddie Blay, his paper, Daily Guide without talking to me for any follow-up interview as to how much the cost is, how much has been invested, how much remains to be added…. One morning there were pictures of a building with the cost of $20million slapped to it”, he explained.

He added as the General Secretary, he was so furious he decided not to disclose the actual cost of the project because he suspected the whole thing was grounded on malice and mischief.

“I told them that I will not disclose the information you want because you are coming through the back door”, he noted.

Asiedu Nketiah will however not disclose the actual cost of the building maintaining the accounts of the party are filed at the electoral commission so it will not be a difficult task ascertaining the cost of the facility.