General News of Friday, 27 September 2013

Source: The Herald

Kufuor made Kennedy Agyapong a billionaire

Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, might have touched the painful part of John Agyekum Kufuor by claiming that the ex-president drove him out of his Airport West private residence for choosing to support Nana Akufo-Addo, instead of Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng as the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential candidate for the 2012 presidential elections.

Report from ex-President Kufuor’s inner circles have revealed that the Assin Central Member of Parliament (MP), was rather made a billionaire by the ex-NPP regime, as he was drawn closer to the presidency and offered juicy government contracts, especially at the Energy Ministry rooted through his wife, Stella Agyepong, mostly without competitive tender.

Some of his companies were mentioned as Mina D’oro Ventures, Super Care Limited and Messrs Imperial World Business Limited. They made millions of US dollars from the National Electrification Scheme (NES) project under the Kufuor regime.

Frank Agyekum, Special Aide to former President Kufuor, has also in a statement issued from New York and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Wednesday, suggested that Mr. Agyepong had lied about his relationship with the ex-President, and described his claims as “reckless”.

Mr. Kufuor, also in the statement dared the ex-Energy Minister, Kofi Adda, to reveal the real reason why he was sacked from the Energy Ministry.

Impeccable sources in the office of the ex-President told The Herald how Mr. Agyepong was paid millions of United States Dollars as “finder’s fee” for the Chinese funded US$622 million Bui Hydroelectric construction by Sinohydro Company.

Some officials in the office of the ex-President described Mr. Agyepong as “an ungrateful person” and challenged him to mention the names of the companies with the thousands of employees he has been boasting about.

To the best knowledge of the ex-president’s office, apart from Oman FM and Net2 television, Mr. Agyepong is solely into procurement and supply of items, mainly from China.

The statement issued and signed in New York by Mr. Frank Agyekum said that “it is emphatic that no such discussion took place between him and Mr. Agyapong and, therefore, the said incident could not have happened.

“Mr. Adjepong’s assertion can just not be true,” said the statement.

With regards to Dr. Adda, Mr. Kufuor said, the reasons for which he lost his post are well known to him (Mr. Adda) and had nothing to do with his support for Mr. Kyeremanteng or any other candidate, adding that Dr. Adda must state his position.

The statement appealed to members of the NPP to refrain from making reckless statements that have no foundation in truth and would only serve to tear members apart.

“Members must do things that will help consolidate the party’s front and woo outsiders into its fold, instead of doing things that create disunity and confusion.

“If we are able to do this now, we stand in a good position to win the future.

“Members must at all times be minded of the core values of the party that has been its distinctive feature and helped to sustain it for the past 60 years, even as we strengthen our structures to wrestle power in 2016, and not do things that will dissipate our energies,” it said.