Founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Jerry John Rawlings, has disclosed that he fired his one-time special assistant, Victor Smith, because he tried diverting funds some Nigerians had promised to pump into the NDC’s campaign for late Professor John Evans Atta Mills ahead of election 2008.
Rawlings, while speaking at the 38th anniversary of the June 4 Revolution in Wa in the Upper West Region on Sunday, accused Victor Smith, a former Ghanaian High Commissioner, of trying to retrieve the cash without his [Rawlings’] knowledge.
The NDC founder sacked Victor Smith, who also served as his special assistant and Director of Public Affairs via a text message in 2008.
Circumstances leading to the sack was sketchy at the time, but Victor Smith in a media interview recently said he was relieved of the post because he supported former President, John Dramani Mahama.
But Rawlings said that was not the case.
According to him, some Nigerians had promised to support the NDC’s campaign and were ready to give the money to Rawlings for onward disbursement, but Victor Smith stopped them from doing so.
“Some Nigerians invited us to the USA; I had left office to come and give a talk and commission some projects for them. We went, and then when we returned, two years later when Professor Mills was our flagbearer, then these Nigerians decided to help. So they were dealing with my office, Mr. Victor Smith. I subsequently heard about it because there was a to-and-fro on this contribution issue until somebody finally called me that this is what is going on—they know me, they want to give me the money, and I can pass it on and not give it to Victor Smith. But Victor Smith is saying that he will take it to the Professor because I’m not the one going to be the candidate….some kind of rubbish.”
Mr. Rawlings said eventually the donors held back their money because of the confusion, adding that Victor Smith subsequently disseminated lies about him on radio over the issue.
The NDC founder said he was also shocked that the late Professor Mills, who was the NDC candidate at the time, who knew the truth also kept quiet for such “rubbish” to go on.
“Eventually, the contribution did not even come. I did not receive any contribution from them, through Mills, through Smith or directly or through the persons who came to see me also. And I don’t believe Prof. Mills received any money from that place. And yet when the time came to pour poison on me started, this secretary of mine was telling the world on radio stations that contributions were coming for a certain nationalistic duty and he had stopped it and diverted it to the flagbearer. In other words, he had stopped it from coming to me. I was disgusted that this guy would make such a story. But you know the one who angered me the most, our Professor Mills who knew the truth, but kept quiet for this poison to burn me. As if I was fraudulent,” he added.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
