*Over Veep’s party card palaver

The General Secretary of a militant organization calling itself Supporters, Friends and Associates of Alhaji Aliu Mahama (SFAAAM), Mohammed Baba Brimah, has asked people peddling “untruths and spreading rumours and lies” that the Vice President is not a card-bearing member of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to stop making such malicious allegations that cannot be proved.

In an interview with the Gye Nyame Concord on Friday, Mr Brimah said even though the group’s intention as Aliu Mahama’s uncompromising supporters is not to over-heat the polity, SFAAAM would not fold their arms “and watch the Vice President insulted and ridiculed by anybody in the country”.

Some newspapers last week reported that Alhaji Aliu Mahama, among other records, could not produce a party card needed for his vetting to the NPP Vetting Committee.

The group challenged anybody with incontrovertible evidence of non-submission of a party card by the Vice President to the Vetting Committee to come out and give proofs.

“If, however, you are only writing for writing sake to tarnish the image of the Vice President, then we the devoted supporters, friends and associates of Alhaji Aliu Mahama hereby appeal to you to immediately stop making baseless, unsustainable and provocative allegations against the Vice President”, Mr Brimah reaffirmed.

The group cautioned media houses to steer clear of the “silent but very fierce ongoing competition for power in the NPP”, saying that wild and unsubstantiated as well as very grave allegations are capable of bringing Aliu Mahama to public ridicule.

The militant organization described the speculations as yet another attempt to smear the Veep and noted that other aspirants in the race are becoming too uncomfortable with the skill, speed and style of the Vice President’s campaign team that has established Aliu Mahama in an unassailable lead in the race to step into the shoes of President Kufuor. According to Mr Brimah, “that is why some of these men are becoming too congenial yet cunning, democratic yet devious, silently and secretly working against our man”.