The governing New Patriotic Party has defended the minister of Environment, Science and Innovation Prof Frimpong Boateng in the raging missing excavators scandal.
The minister in a viral video is head discussion ways to allocate concessions to members of the NPP ostensibly to raise funds for the party.
The party’s General Secretary John Boadu and Ashanti regional minister Wontumi are mentioned in the secret recording as well.
“Prof. Frimpong raised that matter himself, nobody did that for him. So far as I’m concerned, Prof. Boateng’s integrity is intact. So the question is what do you do after he raised the matter? the fact is some of the excavators have been found and people have been arrested and some of those people including the ruling party members,” the NPP director of communications Yaw Buaben Asamoa told journalists at parliament Thursday.
Meanwhile, former Lands and Natural Resources Minister Alhaji Inusah Fuseini has urged t Prof Frimpong-Boateng to resign following the leaked tape on the missing excavators.
Speaking to Starr News, the Tamale Central MP said the content of the video is shocking and embarrassing.
“It was quite shocking, the video was damning. the task force was set up to provide cover for some persons to continue engaging in illegal mining.
“He, therefore, appears to be tainted and appears not to have the capacity to investigate the matter. By this time, I thought the minister would have resigned. The tape making round has dented, destroyed his image and bruised him. He should save the little integrity he has in him,” he said.
In the video, a voice that appeared to be Horace Ekow Ewusi, the NPP former Vice Chairman of the Agona West Constituency, is heard discussing with someone who sounded as Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, how they can engage with some party folks on some mining concessions in order to raise money from the illegal activities to support the party.
Ekow, allegedly said he went to the Minister’s office with the General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu, with a request of mining illegally so that the proceeds would be used to support the NPP.
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng is heard allegedly agreeing to their request and gave his party folks the green light to engage in galamsey.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service probing into the 500 missing excavators seized in the clampdown of illegal mining have invited the Agona West constituency chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kojo Addo, for questioning.
He was invited by the CID, Tuesday afternoon when he was attending to some issues in the constituency.
Inside sources say the Agona West constituency NPP chairman is the right-hand man of Mr Horace Ekow Ewusi, who was suspended from the position of First Vice-Chair of the Central Region of the elephant family for gross disrespect and perjury.
He is alleged to have had a hand in the missing excavators, hence, the invitation to assist the CID to unravel the circumstances that led to the missing of the earth moving equipment.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh