I did not receive a cedi from Francis Poku -- Veep

Vice President John Mahama         Vice President John Mahama has denied allegations by some NDC members that he received any money from former National Security advisor, Francis Poku, during the erstwhile Kufour administration. Mr. Mahama who was speaking at the national conference of the Tertiary Education Institutions Network (TEIN) of the NDC at the Winneba University College in the Central Region, and told the student leaders of the party that he cannot be ruffled by such an allegation. Mr. Mahama revealed that some meetings were being hatched ostensibly targeted at destroying his person. He said “after looking into the crystal ball, they [his detractors] feel I am the most important threat to people’s political ambitions. So every week on Sunday, there is a meeting, cooking up some new mischief against me." Even though he is hurt by such comments the Vice President Mahama believes these diabolical plans will continue as far as he is in politics but assures that "we have been cooked in the cauldron of politics and we believe that it is God who makes leaders. If God says you will never lead this country you can go to the depths of hell and come up, you will never lead this country.” On the allegation by some party members that he received some financial inducement from former National Security Advisor, Francis Poku, the Vice President flatly denied the allegation, expressing shock as well. He said “sometimes it hurts, and they say Francis Poku 'bought' you. It is in one of the statements that I was 'bought' by Francis Poku. I pray that one day Francis Poku himself will speak and correct this untruth. But I put on record with all my religious conviction and my belief in God that Francis Poku never gave me a cedi, I have never received a cedi from Francis Poku, but we’ll leave posterity to judge all that.” He indicated that the New Patriotic Party was not necessarily to blame for all the confusion in the country and that it was vital for the NDC to look inwards to cure the hate politics that is gaining roots in the party. Mr. Mahama further asked; “If your own party is the one saying you are greedy bastards, your party says you are team B,...what communication can you do? All you do is you give ammunition to your opponents to fire you,” he said, adding that no amount of communication gimmicks can correct the harm done. The Vice President stressed that even though the communication team of the government is doing enough, they are handicapped as a result of the venom from within the party which is lending the opposition the needed arsenals to hurt the NDC. Mr. Mahama questioned the rationale behind the tagging of the present government as a Mills-Mahama administration by a high ranking member of the NDC, saying, “today anytime the NPP make a statement, they say Mills-Mahama administration. When have we ever called administrations including the names of Vice Presidents? Rawlings-Ackaah administration or Rawlings-Mills administration or Kufuor-Aliu administration, and yet one of our own is the one who started this Mills-Mahama administration.” He explained that the NPP has packaged the ammunition that the NDC has given to them and are doing a good job in using it against the government. This, he said, makes it nearly impossible to argue ones way out during a discourse with members of the opposition. He however encouraged the students to be united and forge a common front to support the government’s quest at achieving its “Better Ghana” agenda, insisting that “there is no way the NPP can stand a united NDC, I tell you.” Story by Derick Romeo Adogla/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana