General News of Wednesday, 11 April 2018Source: dailyguideafrica.comMahama Ayariga dares IGPMahama Ayariga, Bawku Central MPOpposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central in the Upper East Region, Mahama Ayariga, has thrown a challenge to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) over the double salary scandal that has rocked some NDC officials, who served under President John Mahama. Mr Ayariga confirmed a police invitation asking him to come to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to assist in an ongoing investigation into the allegation that between January 2013 and December 2016 when he was a minister of state, he received salaries as an MP and also as minister of state. The act, according to the police, “is contrary to Section 124(1) of the Criminal and other Offence Act 1960 (Act 29) as amended in 2012 (Act 849). Section 124 relates to the offence of stealing.”Political witch huntingInstead of honouring the invitation, he has rather written to the IGP, asking the police to furnish him with the details of the person (s) making the allegation, and failing that he is asking his lawyers to sue those who made the claims, adding that “the police are embarking on what he called “political witch hunting.”Mr Mahama Ayariga, in his letter, which was copied to the speaker, the leadership of parliament, the Attorney General’s Department, among others, denied the allegation of stealing before threatening legal action. Perhaps, receipt of such on-going payments amounts to stealing since they have not been lawfully determined.”Mr Ayariga averred, “If I am unable to ‘confer with’ (Addo-Danquah (Mrs.) the Director-General/CID on Thursday, 19th April, 2018 at 11:00 am as requested in your letter, it might be because I don’t understand what, in law, ‘confer with’ means in the context of criminal investigations.“The conduct of the police constitutes political harassment simply because I am a Member of Parliament (MP) elected on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and a former appointee of the NDC administration led by President John Dramani Mahama.”However, he said he would honour the invitation with his lawyers.

Source: GhanaWeb April 11, 2018 09:45 UTC