….As Oppong Nkrumah & NPP communicators run from her stinginess
The Herald, has been digging into the seeming lack of defense for the besieged ex-Minister of Sanitation and Water Resource by Akufo-Addo government elements, as well as the spokespersons of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has established that she is stingy.
Cecilia Abena Dapaah, stands accused of hiding behind her extreme closeness to the President, Nana Akufo-Addo and refusing to financially support NPP activities and needy party members. They have, therefore, refused to defend her in this moment of crisis.
But in their absence of the usual spirited defense albeit ridiculous, Paul Adom-Otchere of the Accra-based Metro TV, brazenly stepped forward to put up a story using the two dead relatives of the female politician, as the source of US$800,000, out of the US$1 million, while the €300,000, he claimed belonged to her architect husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour.
He explained on the July 25 edition of his Good Evening Ghana show that, the late brother, a sub-chief of the Asantehene, gave the money to their late mother, who also transferred the same to Cecilia Dapaah.
Paul Adom-Otchere, however, failed to mention the name of the late brother, when the money was given to Ms Dapaah and the venue the money was handed over to her.
But The Herald’s information is that Mr Adom-Otchere, lied to divert attention from those seeking to know the source of the huge sums.
It was stressed that Cecilia Dapaah’s stinginess landed her in trouble. She had in a meeting with some senior Police officers spoken in Twi dialect, saying “sika no ye medie” to wit ‘the money is mine’.
The Police had sought to safeguard her political career, as well as the image of the Akufo-Addo government by asking her to let go of the money, citing how some Ghanaian politicians, have suffered such embarrassing thefts, but the ex-Minister remained adamant and went ahead speaking to senior government officials and selecting her own police officers of a certain ethnic persuasion to investigate the case for her, including getting the culprits arrested.
Interestingly, this paper has seen a memo from the office of the Information Minister, Vincent Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, saying that the “Minister has instructed that District Information Officers produce a situation report on public reaction to the Cecilia Dapaah matter”.
The report from the District Information Officers according to the Minister, which is under the following Report of suspected unexplained wealth, reaction to her resignation, reaction to the President’s statement in response to her resignation”.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah’s memo dated July 24, 2023 and mentioned as coming from “Info Analyst” set up in the Minister’s Office, asked that the “Tasks are to be completed by Wednesday, July 26, 2023”.
Mr Adom-Otchere, had referenced police complaint forms that the minister and her husband filed when they realised they have lost huge sums of money at their private residence in Accra.
According to the TV broadcaster who doubles as the board chairman of the Ghana Airports Company, a late brother of embattled former sanitation minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, left behind US$800,000, which was stolen along with her US$200,000 in a heist by two of her former house helps between July and October 2022.
“The US$800,000 was reported to the police and described to belong to Cecilia Dapaah’s brother… as is on the charge sheet. This 800,000 dollars is controversial because it doesn’t belong to Cecilia Dapaah and her husband.
“According to what Cecilia Dapaah wrote to the police which is what is in the charge sheet right now as I am speaking to you, and it was written months ago. It is for her brother who died months ago at the age of 60.”
Adom-Otchere also spoke extensively about the source of other cash sums stolen by the house maids.
Contrary to the official police charge sheet, that 300,000 euros also stolen belonged to the former minister, Adom-Otchere, said documents he had seen showed that it was declared as belonging to the husband.
He also posted details about the business interests of the architect husband, as well as the late brother before calling on the public to make a value judgement as to whether the said people had capacity to raise the said sums.
Mr Adom Otchere, has since been receiving bashing on social media by some angry citizens for trying to defend the former Minister of Sanitation.
The Host of Good Evening Ghana, has been described as a stomach journalist by some sections of Ghanaians.
Since the news of the stolen cash from the Abelenkpe house of Cecilia Dapaah surfaced on social media, questions have been asked on why she has that amount of money in her home.
But Paul Adom Otchere, whose main role as a broadcaster is supposed to inform and educate his audiences, chooses to be the unofficial spokesperson for the former minister.
According to someGhanaians, Paul has now gone overboard with his comments trying to defend something which is bad.
Others also believe that he wouldn’t have said the same thing if it was the opposition NDC party led by John Mahama that was in power.
