[ 2016-06-24 ]

Car gift saga: I’m not moved by NPP insults - Kweku Baako
Veteran journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr has
said he is unperturbed by the insults being rained
on him for defending President John Mahama over
the Ford gift saga.

The Managing Editor of the New Crusading Guide
has come under a barrage of attacks from members
of the opposition New Patriotic Party for
defending what they term as an act of bribery and
corruption for accepting a gift from Burkinabe
contractor Kanazoe Djibril.

The latest attack came from a former NPP Okaikoi
North Constituency seat aspirant Ken Kuranchie,
who has described as embarrassing the spirited
defense of Mahama over the Ford gift controversy.
Mr. Baako Jnr has rubbished the bribery allegation
against Mahama, saying the matter is not an issue.
According to him, Manasseh Azuri Awuni’s (the
investigative journalist) efforts to get to the
bottom of the matter is commendable, but the
attempt to link the issue to a bribe could have
been better packaged.

“I have a lot of respect for Kweku Baako,
he’s one person I look up to in the media, and I
would have worshipped him if he were a god. I,
however, feel embarrassed at the comments by the
man I so much respect passed on the gift saga. The
matter is a serious one which should not be
brushed aside as the New Crusading Guide newspaper
boss is doing. I really feel ashamed at his
conduct,” the Daily Searchlight newspaper editor
told Atinka FM.

However, Mr Baako Jnr shrugged off the criticism
about him. He told host of Accra-based Metro
TV’s Good Morning Ghana Randy Abbey he is not
moved by the criticism by the NPP, except that
people who do so must do it fairly.

“There’s no doubt that the Mahama’s are my
friends. I have a soft spot for them just as I do
for Nana Addo and Kufuor. These are my very good
friends. Come on I am human. Can’t I have a soft
spot for somebody? It’s normal,” the
award-winning journalist said.

“When I defend Nana Akufo even under very
difficult circumstances as for that they don’t
have an issue with it, but when I do same for
Mahama then they have an issue. I think it’s
double standards. Anyway like I said I am not
worried at all. They can go on. I wish them
well,” Baako Jnr opined.

On his part, the aspiring Member of Parliament
for Tamale North Alhassan Suhuyini who was also on
the programme said the NPP has increasingly
exhibited intolerance for divergent views and for
that matter has developed the penchant for
attacking anybody who disagrees with them.

He threw a challenge to the NPP to come out and
state that they have never received a gift from
contractors for campaign purposes.

“I know a lot of NPP big wigs even including
those who have received one form of gift or the
other from a contractor. Does that mean the gifts
are meant to influence the flag bearer to give
them contracts should he ever become president of
this country? Well if that is the logic they are
pushing then let’s interrogate and I am ready to
do that. But I can assure them that no weapon
fashioned against the president shall prosper. The
NPP is doing all it can to tag the president with
corruption but I can assure them they are wasting
their time,” the former broadcaster stated.

Source - Starrfmonline.com

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