Paul Adom-Otchere, the host of ‘Good Evening Ghana’ on Metro TV believes it is below par for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to use a doctored video of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to brand him as corrupt.

“Ghanaians politicians are taking us back to 1951, to communist inferior tactics which was practised during the second world war. The second world war ended in 1945; that is where they practised the communist inferior tactics,” Paul Adom-Otchere charged, on his Good Evening Ghana show. “Is that the way to do it? I’m shocked," he opined.

Adom-Otchere averred that Ghanaian voters should not forgive any political party which tries to use such an attitude to bring down its political opponent.

“How can you be forgiven for leading 17 million voters […] to the conclusion that your opponent is corrupt, and to do that, you bring this kind of evidence?” he quizzed on his show.

“It is quite crass that you are leading 17 million people to vote one way in favour of you and you are telling us that your opponent is corrupt…but should you do it this way? This is evil, it doesn’t make any sense and it is taking our country back; we don’t like this kind of politics.”

About the video

Two videos with the same setting and scenery but with different voices are currently in circulation. One of the videos sought to suggest President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was influenced with an amount of US$40,000 concealed in a brown envelope.

In the video, Alhaji Abass Awolu, Director of the Department of Urban Roads, according to the voice, had sent a delegation to the President Akufo-Addo’s Nima residence.

They were led to the President by Dr. Adjei Bawuah, Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States. In his company were a woman and a man who were introduced as wife and brother of the Director of Urban Roads, respectively.

A voice purported to be the man introduced as a brother of Alhaji Abass Awolu is heard pleading with Akufo-Addo to pay deaf ears to some allegations against Alhaji Abass, stressing it was a plot by detractors who were bent on tarnishing his image and eventually seeing him kicked out of office by the President.

Akufo-Addo, after the supposed plea for clemency, is seen receiving a hefty brown envelope from Ambassador Bawuah which according to the voice contained US$40,000 being presented on behalf of Alhaji Abass. While at it, the voice of the man purported to be the brother of Alhaji Abass is heard saying: “He has been advised by some people to come and see you with money. He says he doesn’t have much except this 40,000 dollars. He is pleading with you not to remove him from office. He also assures never to disappoint you if he is maintained.”

The second video, however, portrays something different. Although the scene and personalities are the same, the conversation is entirely different and the donation doesn’t seem to bribe the President. The unseen man, who the voice claims is the brother of Alhaji Abass, is rather heard discussing how they could assist in the electioneering campaign.

Three personalities, Ambassador Bawuah, a lady, and a third unseen guest, namely, a man whose face is not captured, are in candidate Akufo-Addo’s Nima home to offer resources in order to grease the wheels of his campaign.

“Please accept this 40,000 in addition to the T-shirts for now. Later, we will communicate to you how else we can contribute to this,” the male voice said.

In both videos, Akufo-Addo after receiving the envelope said: “I need to have a name,” to which the lady replied, “Hajia Fawzia”. It is unclear what Akufo-Addo needed the name for.

The main opposition NDC insists it was a bribery scene involving the President, stressing it was aimed at making him soften his hands over the allegations against Alhaji Abass but the government says the video was shot in 2016 when Akufo-Addo was a presidential candidate. It adds that the amount was a donation towards his campaign and not a bribe.