The Minister of Water Resource, Works and Housing, Alban Kingsford Sumanu Bagbin, says he has no intention of partnering former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings in the 2012 presidential elections.
He therefore, dismissed speculations that he had been meeting with the President of the 31st December Women’s Movement to become her running mate, in her bid to lead the National Democratic Congress into the next presidential election.
He told The Chronicle newspaper in an exclusive interview in Accra yesterday, that attempts to tag and put him in a fix with such unsubstantiated allegations, were not only spurious, but mischievous.
According to him, he could not remember the last time he met with the former first family, and that the only time he met with them was last year, in a move to fine tune attempts to reconstruct their fire-gutted Ridge residence.
“The allegation that I have been meeting former First lady, Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, to discuss the possibility of being her running mate in 2012 is to say the least spurious. The last time I met the Rawlingses was to discuss the reconstruction of their Ridge residence, which was razed down by fire last year.”
The Member of Parliament for Nadowli West stated emphatically that he remained loyal to President John Evans Atta Mills, the nation and to the national Democratic Congress (NDC). “Let me state that my loyalty to the nation, party, and President John Mills, remains unquestionable.”
The NDC guru underscored the service and sacrifice of the former first family, and argued: “Former President Jerry Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, served and sacrificed so much for this nation, and failure to acknowledge, appreciate, and be grateful for their legacy, for me, is the highest order of ingratitude, which must not be countenanced. But, this does not take away my loyalty to the current administration,” he stated.
Responding to the allegations that STX Korea had compromised his stance, the Minster laughed off the allegation, and described it as untenable and unfortunate. “The claim that STX Korea bought a Mercedes Benz to influence me to push the 30,000 dollar Housing deal is not only false, but a complete fabrication,” he stressed. “I have never even received a penny from STX Korea as a company or from their assigns or agents for any purpose. I strongly supported the STX project, because I believe in it.
He continued: “It must also be put on record that I bought the Mercedes Benz saloon car in question, long before I became a Minister of State, using my share of the ex-gratia paid to all MPs to top up the car loan given to MPs of this current Parliament.”