The Manhyia Palace has rubbished claims by a member of the Campaign Team of Nana Konadu for President 2012 and NDC MP for Lower Manya Krobo, Hon. Michael Teye Nyaunu, that the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has endorsed the presidential bid of the former first lady ahead of the NDC’s Sunyani Congress.
Hon. Teye Nyaunu was last Tuesday captured in yet another secret video tape at the Queens Hotel in Accra confidently telling party delegates at Ashaiman that the Asantehene has endorsed and pledged his support, as well as that of his Kingdom, to the former First Lady’s bid to unseat President Mills as leader of the NDC party.
The outspoken NDC MP told the party’s Ashaiman and Adenta delegates that Otumfuo Osei Tutu had told Nana Konadu he would rather support a fellow Asante royal than an Akyem native.
“We were sent to Ashanti Region and we met Otumfuo. When we finished telling him about Nana Konadu’s ambitions, he looked at us in the face and said we didn’t know the name of our candidate properly. 'Listen, I will tell you your candidate’s name, her name is Nana Konadu Agyemang' then he (Otumfuo)stopped. 'She is an Asante and comes from the Royal house so we the royals will never leave our daughter in front of a battle like that. If she goes through the primaries, majority of Asantes will support her and she can win.' He told us that the Ashantis will vote for an Ashanti woman than for an Akyem. So we have also done our homework.
"These are things we didn’t want to bring to the public domain. There are some of the things we are keeping but we are all NDC people here and we must tell you the delegates the truth for you to know why we are standing firmly that Madam should go,” Hon. Teye Nyaunu said.
But the Media Relations Manager for the Asantehene has rubbished the reports which sought to portray that the Manhyia Palace has endorsed the candidature of Nana Konadu.
Speaking to Sampson Nyamekye of HelloFM and subsequently on other media networks, Mr. George Osei Antwi stated that the Asantehene’s major concern was about rewarding teachers in deprived areas, appealing to people to help construct schools and not about “this type of trivial politics.”
“It is not true that Otumfuo has said anything like that. Since he became chief, he has vowed not to meddle in politics and Manhyia will support which ever government the people will elect. It is never true that he has declared his support for one candidate," he said.
He recounted that though the former First Lady was at the Asantehene’s birthday Thanksgiving Service and attended the lunch, nothing political was touched on at the function.
“…we were all sitting on the high table; they did not discuss anything about her contest. Otumfuo invited former president Rawlings and his wife, Kufuor and his wife and President Mills and his wife. Nana Konadu came to stand in for the husband, Dr. Amoako Nuamah and Dr. Oteng Agyei represented government so it is not true that there was some political discussion at all. How can you offer support by attending someone’s birthday then you turned around to use it for political gain?...there was nothing political discussed at the event at all,” he stated.
Whiles daring anyone who claim to have in their possession a recording of any conversation between the august chief and the former first lady regarding the purported endorsement to produced it, he advised the general public to discard the story since it deserved to be “flushed in the pipe line”.
“Some of us are saying that we are becoming fed up with this tape…tape…tape thing…Otumfuo will never say such a thing,” he charged.
Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/Peacefmonline.com/GIJ
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