The NDC politician said the party’s demand for GHC420,000 as nomination and filing fees is justifiable because three years ago, its rival the NPP charged GHC500,000 for same.
“We were all with you here in this country, did you complain,” he said at a press conference in Accra Thursday.
The NPP says the claims made by the NDC General Secretary are untrue.
Deputy NPP National Communications Director of the NPP, Richard Asante said the party charged ¢85,000 as nomination and filing fees.
He accused Johnson Asiedu Nketia of peddling “deliberate lies and propaganda” and asked for a retraction and apology from the NDC General Secretary.
The main opposition party is under pressure to reduce the fees seen as selling positions to the highest bidder. Richard Quarshigah, a campaign spokesperson for Prof. Joshua Alabi, one of the aspirants, said the fee is “mind-boggling”.
The NPP in its press statement has also called it obnoxious. The ¢400,000 as filing fees represents a 700% increase of the party’s previous fee in 2015 – ¢50,000.
Read the statement below:
SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT
The statement by the NDC’s General Secretary, Asiedu Nketia, that the NPP charged ¢500,000 from flagbearer aspirants some four years ago is untrue and typical of the deliberate lies and propaganda approach of the NDC whenever they want to cover up an unacceptable deed.
GHC420,000 for filing fees is unacceptable and can only mean a blatant attempt to skew the primary in favour of a particular person.
Never in the history of the NPP has anything close to that amount been charged for primaries or any of our internal elections.
It should be noted that on June 6th, 2014, towards the preparations for the last presidential primaries, the Nomination Fee, approved by the National Council, was Ten Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC10,000.00) and the Filing Fee was Seventy-Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHC75,000.00).
A statement to that effect, signed by the then General Secretary, is available anywhere as a public document.
We challenge the NDC’s General Secretary to prove this allegation or retract and apologise to the NPP and Ghanaians for attempting to justify and rationalize what is obviously an obnoxious way of monetizing internal contest and eliminating other contestants.
Asiedu Nketia should also concentrate on how to rebuild his party to become the respectable opposition our democracy craves for.
This hefty GHC420,000 demonstrates the need to be vigilant about the previous administration’s financial activities and its impact on the national treasury.
…Signed…
RICHARD ASANTE YEBOAH
(DEPUTY NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR)
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