A former Deputy Minister of Communication in the Mahama administration, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, has sued a former Deputy Electoral Commissioner, Pauline Dadzawa, for defamation.
Pauline Dadzawa had claimed in a leaked audio that Kwakye Ofosu pocketed money purportedly meant for members of the Electoral Commission (EC) to help the NDC’s course in the 2016 elections.
[contextly_sidebar id=”pQfIXIusBtUboeTGJQ5OiB4Fxc4RSNKf”]Mr. Kwakye Ofosu earlier denied the allegations and described them as “utter nonsense” in a post on Facebook.
He later demanded that Pauline Dadzawa retracts her statement or be dragged to court.
On the tape, Pauline Dadzawa is heard saying that she had heard that the former deputy minister had received an amount of $12 million meant to be given to members of the EC as a gift.
According to her, Mr. Kwakyw Ofosu pocketed half of the $12 million per what she had heard, and also given the other half to the dismissed EC Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, when he realized that the NDC was going to lose the elections.
She said Charlotte Osei also kept the half to herself without sharing with other officials of the Commission.
But the former Deputy Minister in response to the audio that’s circulating said: “Folks, ignore the claims made by one Pauline Dadzawa… that I kept part of money meant to be given to members of the Electoral Commission to influence the outcome of the 2016 elections.”
At no point before, during or after that election was I given any money to give to anyone at the Electoral Commission. It is a matter of regret that a senior official of such an important body will find it necessary to dabble in such petty and irresponsible gossip and in the process harm the reputations of innocent persons.
In the said audio lasting a little over sixteen minutes, the woman made several allegations about how both New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been giving money EC officials to thank them after the elections.
Pauline Dadzawa also spoke of how jittery Charlotte Osei was when she realized the NPP had won the elections, and how several of her actions suggested that she wanted to help the NDC rig the polls.
The Electoral Commission has been at the center of national attention after President Akufo-Addo sacked the Chairperson of the Commission Charlotte Osei and her two deputies, Georgina Opoku Amankwah and Amadu Sulley for various procurement breaches and in some cases financial malfeasance.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citinewsroom.com/Ghana