The general secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has revealed that he was paid some allowance on a monthly basis by President John Evans Atta Mills during the party’s tenure of office.
He said Mr John Mahama, as president, also continued with the payment every now and then but noted that he is not paid any salary as the general secretary of the NDC.
As a result, the former MP said he only survives on his farm and cement block manufacturing business.
I’m Not Stingy – Asiedu Nketiah Explains Why People Call Him Stingy, Says He Is Not Being Paid As General Secretary Of The Party #CTV
Posted by C TV on Monday, October 17, 2022
Mr Nketia made the revelations in an interview with Emmanuel Quarshie, host of Accra100.5FM’s morning show (Ghana Yensom) and Nana Otu Darko, host of CTV’s morning show (Dwabremu) when they joint-hosted him on CTV recently and directly asked him to respond to rumours that he is a “stingy” politician.
“I’ve heard about the stingy allegations levelled against me but you can’t give what you don’t have because I came to serve and not to amass wealth”, he told the hosts.
He said: “Prof Mills, when he became president, gave me the first opportunity to choose any ministerial portfolio I preferred before he would go ahead to distribute the rest but I opted to stay at the NDC headquarters as the general secretary to build the party to sustain the government in power”.
“So, if other people opted for ministerial appointments and amassed wealth through that, then they can be that generous with money but from where I sit, I’m not paid by the NDC as a general secretary”, Mr Nketia indicated, insisting: “My name is not on any voucher as a recipient of salary from the party, but, of course, I am given a little fuel allowance but nobody pays me”.
“Go and look through our accounts; I’m not paid”, he challenged.
He, however, noted: “Because I opted to stay at the NDC headquarters to build the party, Prof Mills told the Chief of Staff or the Finance Committee Chairman – I don’t remember the person – to be giving me a monthly allowance. So, Dr Kwabena Adjei (late NDC Chairman), Yaw Gyan (former NDC Organiser) and I were given a monthly allowance by Prof Mills”.
Of course, he added, “President Mahama also did the same, once in a while, but I am not paid a salary by the party”.
“I also got some allowances as Board Chairman of the Bui Power Authority. Apart from that, I survive on my cement block manufacturing business and farming, so, I don’t have any contract with the government”, he pointed out.
Mr Nketia said the situation would have been different if, for instance, he had demanded and been awarded contracts by all the district chief executives when the party was in power, so as to use that to build a war chest to assist party members anytime they approached him for financial support.
In that case, he noted that “it would have been legitimate that when party people came asking me for money, I would have had some to give away”.