News about a top official under the Akufo-Addo government being arrested by UK officials for laundering £26 million through a private jet went viral over the weekend.
National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Tamale Central, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, broke the news on Radio Gold disclosing that “the British Customs have intercepted a large amount of money from a key government official, and are asking for documentation to support that. That money was ferried into the United Kingdom by a plane, a chartered plane…About 26 million pounds Sterling …And they are still investigating. The information is still filtering through. It’s not done yet”.
Inusah Fuseini Backtracks
But on Monday, October 12, 2020, Mr. Fuseini in an argument with Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah on Class FM backtracked on his stance.
He said; “Let me tell my brother and colleague Kojo Oppong Nkrumah that I’m not a purveyor of fake news and I will not put something on air if I don’t have reasonable belief in that”.
“Last week, a group of people met me and gave me information as to what was happening within this government, chronicled some facts; some of them, I could easily ascertain.”
“The 26 million pounds [story], I could not ascertain but the fact that they had given me instances of matters that clearly are worrisome, I gave what they told me some level of credibility,that was why I spoke to it.
“Now, if Kojo Oppong Nkrumah is saying that that is not true and that has not happened, we can only wait to see.
“Mine was to raise red flag based on a reasonable belief in the briefing I had gotten from these people who came to seek audience with me and put before me, matters which, in their view, were matters that we all ought to be concerned about. And, so, that was why I put it on air that was the primary motivation: to raise the flag and to get Ghanaians talking and asking [questions]”, he added.
Information Minister Refutes Claims
Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, on his part, accused the NDC of orchestrating the report to gain political advantage.
Hon. Oppong Nkrumah denied the reports stressing “no government official has been arrested in the UK. It is a total fabrication and we are clear in our minds that it is a fabrication by the NDC and it is part of their strategy for these last eight weeks where they will churning out a lot of fabrication, lies, and fake audiotapes. We are clear in our minds that it is the NDC for one or two reasons. The first person to articulate it publicly is the Honorable Inusah Fusieni, an NDC Member of Parliament”.
“They are the ones who are championing it and articulating it on their online media platforms including Radio Gold online. And now you can also find that there is a fake audiotape that purports to be a piece of international news broadcast on it which is being circulated since last night”, he further stated.
Kweku Baako Lauds Inusah Fuseini
Kweku Baako, speaking on Wednesday’s edition of Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, has applauded the Tamale Central MP for backtracking on his words.
According to him, it was an honorable thing on Mr. Fuseini’s part to reverse his position on the alleged £26 million money laundering saga because the story is absolutely false.
”I think he’s done the honourable thing even though it’s come with some deficit that he’s ascertained. Lawyer talking, he used his words carefully but I can assure him whether ascertain subsequently or not, the thing is not true. It’s fake and t’s as simple as that”, he said.
Mr. Baako also warned against the spread of fake news in the country, reading the electronic laws that ban people from engaging in such practices as well as those who ignorantly circulate the fake news.
”…if you see it’s a conscious diabolical plot to pollute the environment for political propaganda capital. Then I find it very difficult to defend anybody who gets caught on this leg of the law. It’s a caution to all of us.”
