NPP, NDC Women Clash Over Mabey & Johnson

Anita de Souza and Frances Assiam All hell broke loose in the studios of Oman FM, a popular Accra-based radio station, when in the dying moments of a discussion programme on the highly vexed Mabey & Johnson bribery scandal, Frances Assiam, a New Patriotic Party (NPP) activist, clashed with her National Democratic Congress (NDC) counterpart, Anita de Souza, with hands flaring in all directions. Following various submissions on the subject, some scathing, the NDC lady who had turned up for the programme was said to have remarked that she could no longer tolerate any unsavoury remarks about ex-President Jerry John Rawlings and President John Evans Atta Mills regarding the Mabey and Johnson saga. Narrating what happened in the studios to DAILY GUIDE, Fiifi Boafo said before the ‘National Agenda’ programme ended on Oman Radio/TV last Friday, Anita remarked that she would not allow any insult at Rawlings or Mills. “Anita said nobody would go scot-free if he/she insults Rawlings or Mills. Angry about the comment, Frances hit the table with her hand and said such remarks would continue when the circumstances demand them,” he said. “What do you mean?” Frances screamed at the top of her voice. At that time, to cool down tempers, the producer put on the music, ‘Sweet Girls’ by Samini, and to this, Anita stood up to dance while Frances felt the NDC woman was taunting her. At this stage, Frances shot back some words, further infuriating her NDC counterpart. As the two women readied to battle each other, Fiifi quickly signed off while the production staff and Titus Glover rushed into the studio to cool off the women who were prepared to go for each other’s throat. Reports say the Mabey & Johnson saga is now a twin word with which Frances and others taunt their NDC counterparts. One person yells “Mabey”, followed by a response, “Johnson” in a manner which infuriates NDC activists. The scandal in which the British top-notch bridge construction firm was fined by a Crown Court for dishing out bribes to government officials in Ghana and Jamaica would remain a subject on the media for a long time to come. FM studio exchanges have recently turned physical, as in the Oman FM case, during political discussions. Recently, two members of the NPP noisily went into a fistcuff in the studios of Asempa Fm, also in Accra. By A.R. Gomda