General News of Friday, 1 November 2013

Source: The New Statesman

NPP guru receives death threats after calling for Mahama’s impeachment

The New Statesman can confirm that the President of the Progressive Nationalist Forum (PNF) has received a number of death threats following his call for the impeachment of President Mahama for his complexity in corrupt activities.

In an interview with New Statesman, Richard Nyamah, who is also an aspiring National Youth Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), disclosed following the publication of the PNF press statement on the 30th of October, he has received a total of 7 death threats.

According to Richard Nyamah, he had no option but to make a formal complaint to the Nima Police Station, when one of the callers said: “I will kill you. I swear, I will kill you, for calling for the impeachment of President Mahama.”

He noted that he had, in his written statement at the Police Station, included the mobile phone numbers of all the callers who had threatened to kill him, explaining that the Police can easily retrieve the call information from the mobile network in question.

The investigator at the Nima Police Station handling the case, Corporal Augustina, when contacted by the New Statesman refused to speak on the matter.

When asked if the threats had cowed him down, Richard Nyamah noted that these threats can in no way cow him into submission and has even been buoyed to go further with regards to proceedings regarding the impeachment of President Mahama.

Mr Nyamah added that he is also not going to ask for Police protection, as he has his own security arrangements. “Should anything happen, I would have been doing so in self-defence,” he explained.

As a result of the threats, Richard Nyamah told the paper that he will be sending to parliament, a formal petition to demand for the impeachment of President Mahama.

Richard Nyamah explained that Article 69 of the 1992 constitution gives parliament the mandate to remove a President from office whenever his conduct is prejudicial or inimical to the economy or the security of the state.

The Progressive Nationalist Forum in their press statement cited a catalogue of instances to buttress the litany of corruption cases that have been swept under the carpet by President Mahama.

The group in itemizing the corruption cases began with a revelation by former Attorney General, Mr. B.K.A Amidu, who stated that the late President Mills had cause to set up a Committee of Enquiry to investigate the acquisition of aircrafts for the Armed Forces led by the then vice President John Mahama.

This in effect, in the opinion of the group, was an investigation of corruption against a sitting vice president, the first ever in the political history of Ghana.

“The Committee constituted to investigate the Acquisition of Five Aircrafts, including Embraer 190 aircraft and hangar to the Ghana Army was made up of Hon William Aboah, Mr. George Amoah and Brig. Gen. Allotey (Rtd.). As expected President Mahama has not allowed this committee of enquiry to complete its mandate and ‘clear’ his name,” the statement said.

The statement continued, “Also worrisome is the family dimensions of the president corrupt activities. In one instance the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) use funds belonging to suffering Ghanaian workers to retire a GH¢57.2 million debt owed by his brother, Ibrahim Mahama, to struggling Ghanaian bank, Merchant Bank with the urging of the then vice president Mahama,” the statement read.

PNF also cited how scandals relating to GYEEDA, ASONGTABA, SADA, ISOFOTON and SUBAH/GRA and the over a US$100 million oil revenue loss between 2011 and 2013 as reported by the Public Interest & Accountability Committee headed by Major Daniel Ablorh – Quarcoon (rtd.) scandals are just tips of the iceberg.

PNF estimates that monies lost to corrupt and dubious transaction under the presidency of John Dramani Mahama is GH¢5 billion.

As though this was not enough, the group says it has information pointing to other major corruption scandals yet to hit the public, and is “calling on Auditor General to make public the 2012 auditor general’s report for parliamentary and public scrutiny.”