An amount of GHC 400 million in judgement debt seems to hang aroung the neck of government as the Chief Executive Officer of Gbewaa Civil Engineering Company Limited heads to court, over the sale of Tohazee Hotel in Tamale.

Alhaji Yakubu Kasuli, who claimed he bought the facility in the 90’s and paid cash for it, has instructed his lawyers from Gyabour and Co., to proceed to court and sue Mr. PV Obeng and Alhaji Hudu Yahaya for breach of contract.

While accusing the ruling National Democratic Congress' First National Vice Chairman, Alhaji Hudu Yahaya of claiming ownership of the hotel, Alhaji Yakubu Kasuli alleged that Mr. PV Obeng, who abrogated the transaction, said Nana Ato Dadzie, who was the then Secretary to the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), instructed him (PV Obeng) to nullify the deal.

He said: "I bought this hotel nearly 14 years ago during the PNDC days and not just that, I decided to buy it because it was advertised and I was the only person who tendered for it. We were three people including the late Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama who tendered and it ended up that my price came up to be the highest and so the hotel was offered to me."

Signing the Memorandum of Understanding, he recalled: "Some of the conditions which were clearly spelt out were that workers of the hotel were to take 5% and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) would have taken 5% of the transaction."

"These terms of reference were adhered to at the time the deal was sealed," Alhaji Yakubu Kasuli noted. "When I went to SSNIT, they told me that I should finish with the payment and also with the renovations and come out with a final figure which they will pay 25% shares of the final figure; so that was the final agreement between me and SSNIT, I paid for it and then went with a representative of SSNIT and a representative of workers of the hotel to register the company as Mariam Hotel Tamale.’

Alhaji Kasuli bemoaned that three days after the payment, he was summoned to the office of Mr. PV Obeng who told him that he was instructed by Nana Ato Dadzie who claimed the directive was from Chairman Rawlings.

"When they handed it over to me, exactly the third day I was summoned to the office of PV. Obeng and was told that he had received instructions from the office of the PNDC Chairman that they should nullify the transaction. Well I didn’t know what actually was the cause of that because I had fully paid for it and if anything at all I was not queried.

I was not told why they nullified the transaction and unfortunately he (PV. Obeng) said he was leaving that day for Zimbabwe to attend Commonwealth Prime Ministers meeting but insisted that Ato Dadzie called him and instructed him to nullify the transaction based on Chairman Rawlings’s directive."

"From PV’s office, I went to see Hudu Yahaya and explained the situation to him and he told me that he was not aware of the decision of the PNDC Chairman or the decision of the Castle and that I should give him some few days to check what necessitated the nullification of the transaction and get back to me. Later on I went to him and he said they had explained something to him and that he was not too satisfied with it but asked me to leave everything with him and he will make sure that the whole thing will be reversed."

Alhaji Kasuli added: "I was following PV. Obeng and Hudu Yahaya for a long time. I went to PV. Obeng after his return from Zimbabwe, he also told me that he was talking to Ato Dadzie and that he will get back to me anytime there was good news; and that was the same thing Alhaji Hudu Yahaya told me that he was working it out with the PNDC Chairman and nothing came out from both sides.’

According to him, the turn of events frustrated him as he had the requisite legal documentation covering the said transaction decision.

"I am surprised that Alhaji Hudu Yahaya is today claiming ownership of the facility, he has stabbed me in the back.’

Attempts to reach Mr. PV Obeng and Alhaji Hudu Yahaya have proved futile but Nana Ato Dadzie has denied knowledge of such transaction and said Alhaji Kasuli’s claim, if any, should proceed to court and stop using the media to "blow cold air."

The Tohazie Hotel is located on the Northern Regional Coordinating Council road and is situated in between the Tamale High Court Building and about two minutes drive away from the Northern Regional Police Command.

Directly opposite the Tohazie hotel is the Tamale GCnet ICT centre and behind it is the regional offices of the regional Electoral Commission offices.