Former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and presidential hopeful, Ing. Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, has firmly rejected claims by Kennedy Agyapong, former Assin Central Member of Parliament, that he sponsored the NPP with a $3million loan in 1992.
Kennedy Agyapong, who is also a prominent flagbearer aspirant, has repeatedly stated that he and a business partner secured a $3million loan from Cal Bank in 1992 to support the newly formed party, with an eight-year repayment plan.
According to Kennedy Agyapong, this financial support was critical during a period when the NPP was struggling to establish itself on Ghana’s political scene.
However, during an interview on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo programme, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong dismissed these assertions, urging for historical accuracy regarding the NPP’s early funding.
“I have no problem with Kennedy Agyapong, but he was putting out information about the party’s history that simply isn’t true,” Mr. Agyapong stated.
“I was there in 1992 when we were structuring the party. $3million in 1992 Ghana? The bank he’s referring to, what was its stated capital then,” he rhetorically asked the host Kwame Sefa Kayi.
Agyapong stressed that during the party’s formative days, he served as a representative of the Young Executives Forum on the National Executive Committee, alongside Alan Kyerematen.
“It’s not possible that someone gave the party $3million in 1992 and nobody heard about it,” he maintained, recalling the largest donations at the time as being £10,000 from the NPP’s UK branch and $35,000 from its USA branch.
He emphasized, “We should not distort history. The important thing is that many people have supported the party in diverse ways, but it’s wrong to claim credit for things that never happened. I am disputing this; it is not true that Kennedy Agyapong brought $3million. The key actors, Adu Boahen’s campaign manager (Nana Akufo-Addo), then-treasurer Hackman Owusu-Agyemang are still alive, and none can attest to such a transaction.”
Agyapong insisted that, as a former general secretary, he has a responsibility to guide and protect the integrity of the NPP’s history. “Nothing like that happened,” he concluded.
Source: www.Kumasimail/Kwadwo Owusu
