Pray NPP stays in power forever - Raymond Archer's warning to McDan resurfaces after ORAL appointment

In July 2023, businessman Raymond Archer advised the Board Chair of the Ghana Trade Fair Company, Daniel McKorley, popularly known as McDan, to pray that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) remains in power forever.

He warned that McDan should be wary of the dangers ahead should the NDC be voted into office in the 2024 general elections.

The businessman, who had his multi-million-dollar company demolished years ago, said the NPP was fond of collapsing businesses they think belong to supporters of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

He alleged that businesses of NPP supporters, including the McDan Group, were given prominence to thrive.

Speaking on Radio Gold, Raymond Archer said, "Now they came for my business. McDan, he has to pray, you know I don't talk too much, but he has to pray that his government stays in power forever.

"Now, he has the McDan Group...a whole lagoon; natural resource was seized and given to him and all those people who lived on that lagoon, and I understand about 4,000, 5,000 livelihoods have been taken and given to one man...he has McDan Aviation, he has mining, he has Electrochem, he is building his empire while trampling on other people. That is who they are and what they have always done," he stated.

His statement was in response to an interview by McDan, where he accused the current Ghanaian youth of being lazy and sleeping too much.

It would be recalled that officials of Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited in 2020 pulled down structures belonging to different companies following a redevelopment project at the Trade Fair Center.

Raymond Archer, who had his companies Universal Labels and Packaging Co. Ltd (UNIPACK) and Colour Planet Limited, also saw his properties demolished.

According to him, a court had placed an injunction to stall the demolition exercise; however, authorities of the Trade Fair Company Limited carried out the exercise without prior alert.

He noted that he legally acquired the property; therefore, the actions of the authorities are unjustifiable.

Meanwhile, President-elect John Dramani Mahama has set up a five-man team to put preparatory measures in place for the implementation of one of his major campaign promises, 'Operation Recover All Loot' (ORAL), which is aimed at recovering all the resources of the country stolen by public officials.

The preparatory team, whose task is to gather data on corruption cases to ensure that ORAL hits the ground running as soon as Mahama is sworn into office, is made up of renowned Ghanaians known for their disdain for corrupt activities.

Raymond Archer, who doubles as one of the best investigative journalists in Ghana, is also a member of Mahama's anti-corruption team.

In 2002, Archer won both the Global Medal and the African Prize of the 2002 Lorenzo Natali Prize for Excellence in Journalism, sponsored by the European Union and the International Federation of Journalists.

One of Raymond Archer's investigative works revealed massive corruption in the judiciary, leading to public outcry and calls for reforms.

His recent appointment as a member of the ORAL team has led to videos of his interview from 2023 resurfacing on the internet.