My People Wanted Me Not Nana Addo -Ameyaw

*Says NPP’s Osei Ameyaw, denies electoral fraud & Counterfeit Claims *

*Hints Smear Campaign By His Opponents*

By Alfred K. Dogbey

The New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) Member of Parliament (MP-elect) elect for Asuogyaman Constituency of the Eastern Region has denied claims by the Constituency executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that he won the seat through fraudulent mechanism.

Mr. Kofi Osei Ameyaw also denied ever bribing electoral officials to add strange ballots boxes to the officially declared results and insisted that the Constituency elections was free and fair, adding his victory was a clear case of the famous “skirt and blouse” voting.

The MP-elect, who is about to make a second return to Parliament after he was dislodged in 2008, yesterday told The Herald in an interview that “my people wanted me, but not Nana Addo”.

Mr. Osei Ameyaw further denied using fake currency to buy votes from the electorate, electoral officers and polling agents during this year’s election in the Asuogyaman Constituency.

He told the paper that both the overwhelming number of Voltarians in the Constituency and Krobos voted for President John Mahama as their president but voted for him as their parliamentarian because they believed he (Kofi) could better serve their interest unlike his opponent in the NDC, Rev. Dr. Joses Asare Akoto.

Meanwhile, The Herald has in its custody fake cedi notes allegedly distributed by Mr. Osei-Ameyaw to induce electoral officers and polling agents who supervised the just-ended election in the Asuogyaman Constituency.

The fake notes are in the denominations of a Twenty Cedis note, two Ten Cedis notes and two Five Cedis notes making a total of Fifty Cedis.

A polling station agent at Ghana-Kpoe, a suburb of Atimpoku, one Mr. Simon Gakpo who claimed he also received counterfeit money from Mr. Osei Ameyaw, told The Herald that the MP-elect gave them the fake money on the eve of the election at a drinking spot named Lome-Store at Atimpoku Trotro Station.

He said upon realizing that the money given to them by the MP-elect was counterfeit, they called him on phone to report the incident to him but he quickly cut-off the call on them.

Mr. Gakpo stated that since the incident took place, the phone numbers of Mr. Osei Ameyaw never went through but they were told he was arrested and released by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for the same offence.

Tetteh Kofi, Maxwell Toklo, Vincent Nuvor and certain Wisdom who have also claimed to be recipients of the counterfeit notes together with Mr. Gakpo, vowed to bear witness whenever they were called upon to do so.

The suspect, Mr. Osei Ameyaw might have redrawn the fake currency from his controversy-ridded bank, Asuogyaman Rural Bank at Atimpoku.

But when Mr. Osei Ameyaw was contacted, he said “I don’t know or given any money to Gakpo at Atimpoku”.

He noted, “The people of Asuogyaman wanted me, and voted for me but not Nana-Addo, that’s why they voted skirt and blouse,” adding “the election is over and Ghanaians have spoken, they elected President Mahama, and my people had also elected me”.

He went on “my brother Dr. Asare Akoto should accept and come to terms with the outcome of the elections”. Mr. Osei Ameyaw accused the outgoing MP, Rev. Dr. Joseph Asare Akoto and the NDC Constituency chairman, Love Joy Dusi of orchestrating a smear campaign against him, and described their claims as very ridiculous as

He also denied being a subject of an investigation by the BNI.