The incumbent National Democratic Congress has for the first time commented publicly on foreign media reports that it received funding from disputed Ivorian leader, Laurent Gbagbo, to partly finance the party’s 2008 campaign.
The allegation first surfaced in neighbouring Burkina Faso.
A Burkinabe weekly newspaper alleged in its Christmas day edition that in the disputed Ivorian leader’s attempt to secure his borders, he charitably offered to help then candidates Mills and Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2008 presidential elections.
Some reports have since claimed that the NDC indeed received some form of funding from the Ivorian leader, explaining why President Mills is opposed to the use of military force to remove Mr Gbagbo from power.
But, NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, in an exclusive interview with Citi News has dismissed the reports. He has challenged the people making the claims to come out publicly to prove that the NDC breached the country’s Constitution which forbids external funding of political parties.
“We all know that resources for the financing of political parties cannot come from external forces. Everybody knows that or you think we are criminals who are going against the Constitution of the Republic? Whatever international press is making the allegation ought to know the laws of this country. So there are certain questions we don’t need to answer at all. Let them supply their evidence” he said.
Mr. Asiedu Nketia, who appeared very infuriated by the report, almost vented his spleen on Citi FM’s Richard Sky as he demanded of him to respond to the allegations.
“Are you alleging that I am a criminal or we are criminals? Are you alleging that we knowing that you cannot take resources from elsewhere to finance your campaign, we went with our whole eyes open going elsewhere in breach of the Constitution of the Republic? What type of question are you asking me?” he hotly asked.
Mr. Asiedu Nketia insisted the NDC is fully behind President Mills on his stance against military intervention in Ivory Coast. He also commented on opposition-led speculations that Ghana is providing refuge for Ivorian First Lady, Mrs. Simone Gbagbo.
“If Ghana is a peaceful country and anybody decides to seek refuge here, it is our international obligation to accept those people. This is not to admit that I know about the wife of anybody hiding here in Ghana. Even if the wife is not hiding here and the children and the wife or anybody wants to seek refuge in Ghana, it will be against international principles for us not to give him asylum. Indeed, if Gbagbo himself decides to step down on condition that Ghana offers him asylum it will be welcome news because that will help us to solve the problem there” he said.