Former President Jerry Rawlings has revealed for the first time that he fired Mr Victor Smith as his Secretary years ago because the former Ambassador to the UK wanted to divert campaign funds which some Nigerians in the United States wanted to wire to the campaign team of Prof John Evans Atta Mills ahead of Ghana\u2019s 2008 elections through him (Rawlings).<\/p>\n
Mr Smith, who recently described his relationship with his former boss as \u201cnot the best,\u201d was fired by Mr Rawlings as his spokesperson on 9 April, 2008 via text message ahead of that year\u2019s general elections.<\/p>\n
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In his version of the story, Mr Smith said Mr Rawlings fired him because he (Mr Smith) supported late Prof John Mills\u2019 choice of Mr John Mahama as running mate at the time, against the wishes of the Rawlingses.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Presenting his side of the story in Wa at the 38th anniversary of the 4 June 1979 uprising, Mr Rawlings said: \u201cI used to have a secretary called Victor Smith; we fell out. It wasn\u2019t so much because of disagreement over John Mahama and yet that\u2019s what he\u2019s touting. And yet I guess he like a few of us who want to be president have stepped back being promised, of course that he will make them running mates, I presume.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, why did I turn against this boy called victor smith?\u201d the former military ruler asked. \u201cHe (Mr Smith) was my Secretary. Some Nigerians invited us to the USA \u2013 I had left office \u2013 to come and give a talk and commission some business for them. We went. When we returned, subsequently \u2013 months or how many years later \u2013 when Prof Mills was our flag bearer, then this Nigerians decided to help, so, they were dealing with my office, Mr Victor Smith. Now I subsequently heard about it because there was a to-and-fro over this money, contribution issue till somebody finally called me that this is what is going on: \u2018They know me, they want to give me the money and I can pass it on, not give it to Victor Smith and Victor Smith is saying that: \u2018no, he would take it to the prof, [because] I\u2019m not the one who is going to be the candidate,\u2019 blah blah blah blah that type of rubbish. So, they come out through somebody and said: \u2018This is what is going on.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr Rawlings continued: \u201cEventually, the contribution did not even come. It did not come. I did not receive any contribution from them, through Mills, through Smith, or directly through the person who came to see me also and I don\u2019t believe that they sent it to Mills and I don\u2019t believe that Prof Mills received any money from that place because I think they got fed up with the way this man was behaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yet, when the time to pour poison on me started, this secretary of mine was telling the world on radio stations that contribution was coming for a certain nationalistic duty and he had stopped it and diverted it to the flag bearer. In other words, he had stopped it from coming to me. I was disgusted that this guy would make up such a story. And you know the one who angered me the most? Our Prof Mills who knew the truth but kept quiet for this poison to burn me \u2013 I was fraudulent,\u201d Mr Rawlings complained.<\/p>\n
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Former President Jerry Rawlings has revealed for the first time that he fired Mr Victor Smith as his Secretary years ago because the former Ambassador to the UK wanted to divert campaign funds which some Nigerians in the United States wanted to wire to the campaign team of Prof John Evans Atta Mills ahead of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-394173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n
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