....fails as he repeats what he told CONCORD

*E T Mensah in hot exchange with Egbert Faibille as Ogbamey insists: Story Is True

THE MAIN opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has found itself in a dilemma barely 48-hours after elements within the party pooh-poohed independent reports by the Gye Nyame Concord and The Ghanaian Observer newspapers on a plot to assassinate the party’s MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.

Now elements within the same party who claimed the reports were fake, are suggesting that a search for the plotters should be focussed on finding the plotters inside the ruling NPP and not the NDC.

Moments after Fiifi Kwetey, Propaganda Secretary for the NDC, told the Accra-based Radio Gold that the story could not be true, he turned around to suggest that it was a plot rather by the NPP to kill Haruna and blame it on the NDC.

Barely 24-hours after his assertion Wednesday morning came another statement by the Tertiary Education Institutions Network, a students wing of the NDC, which according to a JOY FM report, accused the NPP of being behind the plot to assassinate the MP.

Anthony Gingong, Deputy National Coordinator of the TEIN, who spoke to JOY FM on the issue, is reported to have stated that the report was a ploy to gag the vocal NDC National Youth Organizer from criticizing government policies.

GYE NYAME CONCORD can, however, reveal that all these statements have taken place against mounting pressure by party gurus on Haruna Iddrisu to speak on the issue.

Sources say Haruna is being pressured to come out with a diplomatic face-saving statement that would seek to suggest that though the two newspapers which broke the story got in touch with him, he informed them that he would check on the issues and get back to them.

He was expected to then suggest that he was unaware of a plot to eliminate him in his statement.

But 48-hours after the CONCORD and GO broke the story, there has been stony silence on the part of the MP, leaving many people wondering why other NDC activists have taken it upon themselves to castigate and attack the two newspapers without providing cogent reasons on why the report should not be believed.

By press time last night when the MP broke his silence for the first time and spoke on JOY FM, his answer to a question on the issue was an exact refrain of what he told the CONCORD and GO in various interviews Tuesday.

"My life is in the hands of Allah" he told the JOY FM's newscaster when she brought up the issue after Haruna did an extensive interview on the Representation of People's Amendment Act (ROPA).

Strangely, the official position of the NDC as espoused by its National Chairman, Dr. Kwabena Adjei, is to also hold their fort.

In an interview with JOY FM Wednesday noon, Kwabena Adjei said the NDC had no immediate comment on the alleged plot to assassinate its National Youth Organizer and MP for Tamale South.

He told Joy FM that his party had no position on the issue yet and that the leadership had not met Haruna, who is also the Minority Spokesman on Communications, over the matter.

Haruna himself refused numerous invites to comment on the issue by various radio stations in Accra when the news broke. More than 48-hours later, he is still yet to say anything beyond what he told the two newspapers on the issue, with the editors of the two newspapers, Messrs. Alfred Ogbamey and Egbert Faibille, insisting that their reports were true.

"I stand by my story and l can confidently say that two of the very loud voices seeking to speak for the NDC without Haruna Iddrisu himself saying anything, were at the meeting that plotted on how to kill him. "Haruna is in my opinion not speaking because he is in a difficult dilemma: He says it's true and he paints his own party black and mar his political future; he denies it and gives cover to people, l believe he knows by now, were indeed involved in this plot to kill him" noted Alfred Ogbamey, author of the Concord news report on Peace FM yesterday (Thursday) morning.

On Citi FM's Eyewitness News Wednesday evening, the MP for Prampram, Hon. E T Mensah also clashed with the Managing Editor of the Ghanaian Observer, Mr. Egbert Faibille Jnr, over the subject, with an attempt by the MP to water down the import of the revelation.

But what took place left many listeners at a loss as to why Mr. Mensah had to quickly respond to the allegation when key party officials known to speak on the party's behalf were available.

In his submission, E T Mensah said the story "is chaff. The story is not true; the story doesn't make sense at all. We're not children, nobody in the NDC is worried at all. Many, many of us do our work, we're masters in what we do, we're not cowards…"

But Egbert Faibille had some words for E T Mensah after the later attacked his educational background.

"Let me proceed with your kind permission to respond to the shenanigans of Mr E.T. Mensah. I don't think educational qualification is an issue here. Everybody knows his academic record and where he used to work before by the grace of politics he rose to where he got to. Some of us have attached ourselves to our books and by the grace of God have come to a certain standpoint by way of education and I'm very proud of my educational achievements if he is not proud of his."

Egbert also indicated that his story is credible. “The ethical base is clear. We've done a story, we still stand by the story, what we have said is that at least two NDC MP's were at the meeting, we have provided information to the effect that one of them is an NDC MP, who has a constituency in Greater Accra and that the meeting was organised in his house. The other one comes from the Volta Region and speaks with a twang in his voice."

Faibille then proceeded to ask questions of the host, seeking to know why E T Mensah had taken it upon himself more than anybody to deny the story.

After questioning why E T Mensah was not addressing the issues the stories raised but rather attacking his newspaper, Egbert sought to ask whether the Ningo Prampram MP had told the host that he was or has not been to any such meeting where the issue has been discussed, and that he had held no such meeting in his house.

According to Egbert, if he can say that then he can remove himself from the possible culprits but he is not telling you anything of the sort. In any case, Egbert continued, "it is not what I say that matters or what E T Mensah says that matters. It's about what Haruna Iddrisu says that matters. Did E.T. Mensah say he was speaking on behalf of Haruna? Did he tell you that he is speaking on authority granted him by Haruna? All that he has said are conjectures."