![MMT Boss, Bennet Aboagye [Left] handing over GHc20,000 to Lawal [Right] in an alleged cover up](https://www.citinewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/tuffour-giving-money-to-lawal.jpg)
The Board of Directors of the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMT), has asked embattled Managing Director of the company, Bennet Aboagye, to step aside with immediate effect.
Mr. Aboagye has been accused by staff of MMT of undertaking some shady deals, and had tried to bribe whistle-blowers to suppress some damning report they have of him.
The directive from the board was confirmed to citinewsroom.com by the Corporate Communications Manager at MMT, George Krobea Asante.
Mr. Aboagye is expected to proceed on leave with his personal assistant, Yiadom Kesse.
In a letter addressed to the Bennet Aboagye, the board chair of MMT, Ahmed Arthur said, “the Board has decided to set up an investigative Committee to investigate the series of allegations and give you an opportunity to respond to the allegations… In order for the Committee to have an unfettered atmosphere within which to conduct its activities, the Board has further decided that you proceed on leave with effect from Wednesday, 18th April, 2018.”
“We therefore requested to hand over your duties to the Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations,” the statement added.
Petition against MMT boss
[contextly_sidebar id=”scQ1FV8PNzFxrNSo2wJw6FYT9KXMCosQ”]The MMT’s Security Coordinator, together with other unidentifiable persons have petitioned the office of the Special Prosecutor to investigate alleged procurement malpractices for the purchase of some 300 buses.
According to the petition, signed by one Mr. Lawal, who is said to be the Company’s Head of Security, the Managing Director, is in collusion with some top officials of the Company to secretly purchase 300 new buses and electrical products, and sell off MMT scrap buses.
The petition sighted by Citi News accused Mr Aboagye and his assistant, Mr Yiadom Kessie of openly requesting “for bribes or commission before awarding contracts to suppliers or signing cheques to pay suppliers for services they rendered.”
The petitioners say they subsequently “planted a third ear at some strategic locations with the hope of having firsthand information about what the MD, his assistant and some key players in this scandal do, say and planned to do, and the revelations uncovered are mind-boggling.”
“The third ear revealed among others, malpractices involving the intended purchase of 300 buses from China…the purchase of electrical products, the sale of MMT scrap buses among others,” the workers added in the petition.
They also claimed that Mr. Aboagye, however, tried to bribe them to the tune of about GHc60,000 to have the recordings and transcripts destroyed.
I’m being blackmailed
But in a swift response, the Managing Director of MMT, Bennet Aboagye, dismissed the allegations.
He insisted that Mr . Lawal had tried extorting about $1 million from him with the pretence of being a negotiator between him [Aboagye] and the alleged blackmailers.
Mr. Aboagye said he quickly informed his lawyer, Dr Amoako Tuffour, who advised him to inform the Bureau of National Investigations [BNI].
He also said Dr. Tuffour advised him to pay the ransom to the whistleblowers to bait them.
“Dr Amoako wanted us to bait Lawal, so he proposed that instead of Lawal’s initial demand of $1 million, we should make an offer of GHc20,000.”
He said after several meetings, Mr Lawal told them that the supposed blackmailers had agreed to accept GHc40,000 and hand over all the recordings and the “supposed third ear.”
“All this while, Lawal was trying to portray that he was only playing an intermediary role and that he was innocent and rather intervening on our behalf. According to him, it was a group led by one Bawa which was behind this deal. It is important to note that, the said Bawa once called Mr Kessie on the phone and threatened him to pay the money, else, he would regret the consequences of failure to comply,” Mr Aboagye said in a memo sighted by Citi News.
We breached no rules in procuring 300 buses- MMT
The Corporate Communications Manager at Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMT), had in an earlier Citi News interview insisted that the company went through the right processes in procuring some 300 new buses.
Speaking to Citi News’ Umaru Sanda Amadu, Mr. Krobea Asante, however indicated that MMT had so far not breached any law in the procurement of buses for the company.
“The procurement department so far as I am concerned has not breached any procurement process. However, if anybody is in doubt, they can come, we will show you documents that will confirm that we have gone through the stages and we have not breached procurement processes.”
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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin
