Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has stated President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has never been involved in any untoward conduct let alone taking a bribe.
According to him, the origin of video footage being circulated in the public domain by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) as evidence of bribery against the President is a 2016 campaign donation and nothing more.
The government, he said, is not surprised at the desperate attempt by NDC flagbearer John Mahama to falsely accuse the President of bribery and stressed such false accusation is premised on the campaign donation video that has been doctored.
“Characteristic of the NDC’s reliance on waging a campaign of lies, fake news and fabrications, the opposition candidate and his party have now sponsored the doctoring of this video and superimposed it with new voices to create the false impression that it is a post-2016 event showing the President receiving a bribe,” the Minister said in a statement to the media.
He noted that while the government is not surprised by the new low by the NDC candidate and his party, Ghanaians should expect more of such falsehoods and fabrications in the days leading up to the election.
He said, “It has become clear that candidate Mahama’s failed campaign now sees fake news and fabrications, as well as an amendment of their earlier promises as the only hope to salvage what is going to be another decisive victory for President Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party.”
“We are not disappointed that Mr. Mahama and the current NDC leadership will stoop so low with obvious fabrications, which they hope can change the minds of Ghanaians. It is and will always be their stock-in-trade,” he said.
According to Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, Ghanaians are discerning and will not be swayed by obvious fabrications designed by persons who always seek to bring the name of the Republic into disrepute and sully its image amongst the comity of nations.
He urged the public and the media to be vigilant in order not to fall prey to the antics of the NDC and Candidate Mahama who desperately desire to tarnish the image of the republic for their own selfish, parochial and partisan ends
A Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof Ransford Gyampo, has criticised the release of a video in which Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo allegedly took a bribe in the early days of his Presidency.
He said the questions about the authenticity of the video could annoy discerning floating voters, with just a three days to the December 7 polls.
According to him, the use of propaganda in elections to win votes, by their very nature, involves the publication of half-truths but because floating voters do not have the time to interrogate half-truths, they are likely to see any political party feeding them with half-truths as not credible.
“Which of them is fake? Which one is the original? Is the ‘fake’ the original or the ‘original’ the fake?
“Who donates campaign T-shirts after elections? What will an elected President use 2016 campaign t-shirts for, in 2017? These and other allied issues raise imponderable doubts in my mind about the video,” Prof Gyampo asked.
Prof Gyampo’s comments, which is contained in a short write up sent to GhanaWeb, is in reaction to allegations by the NDC that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took a bribe of $40,000 in the early days of his Presidency.
The NDC backs the allegations with a video it says was made by an investigative journalist.
Source: Ghanaweb
