In a desperate attempt to help, his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings to win the mandate of the delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Sunyani, former President Jerry John Rawlings has deserted the principles and values he is noted for and done the unthinkable.
He has been caught bribing some delegates of the NDC at his Ridge office in Accra. The occasion was when the former President, who is also the founder of the NDC, met with some delegates of the Greater Accra Region this Monday to canvass votes for his wife.
After successfully telling delegates what Nana Konadu has in store for the NDC to the delegates, each one of theme was given a meat-pie and GH¢20.00.
The meeting itself was amidst anger from the Greater Accra Regional executives of the party because the former President called the meeting without informing them.
The regional executives accused the former President of using unorthodox means to woo delegates to vote for his wife. The position of the former President as the founder of the NDC bars him from declaring his support and campaigning for any of the candidates, according to the NDC constitution.
Sources within the delegates who attended the meeting told The Enquirer newspaper that the Office of the Former President did not explain the motive behind dishing out the cash.
However, they told the Enquirer that it was obvious that the monies were meant to entice them to vote for Nana Konadu at Sunyani. The sources said that most of the delegates were at a loss as to why the former President of all people would decide to offer cash to them.“Being our founder, as we all know, we thought it wise to heed to his call but we did not know he was going to bribe us as he did,” the sources quoted a delegate as saying.
Former President Rawlings had on several occasions raised red flags about the manner money was creeping into the NDC race for a flagbearership position of the party. The Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings (FONKAR) had at one time also accused the camp of Professor J.E.A. Mills of paying delegates GH¢4,000 and motorbikes. Mr. Herbert Mensah, a close associate of the Rawlingses, also hit town, claiming that he and his godfather (Ex-President Rawlings) were in possession of some security tapes suggesting the Prof. Mills and his team intend to spend GH¢90 million towards the congress.
However, when Mr. Mensah was invited by the security agents for questioning and provision of the tapes, he asked them to talk to the former President.
Prof. Mills at the time of that allegation denied raising any such funds for his campaign towards the congress. Again, the campaign team of the Nana Konadu had accused the Prof. Mills team of dishing out cash to delegates to entice them to refuse to meet Nana Konadu during her campaign tour.
Ex-President Rawlings, in recent time, had thrown tantrums, claiming that the moral fibre of the NDC was being destroyed with money.
Source: GhanaWeb
