Nana Addo lied over $10m Presidential diary cost - Stan Dogbe

Presidential staffer, Stan Dogbe has denied claims by the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party that the John Mahama administration has spent $10 million to produce presidential diaries.

Commenting on his facebook wall, the presidential staffer said the statements by Nana Akufo-Addo are outright lies.

Addressing participants on the final day of the party''s International Conference at the NH Grand in Amsterdam, Holland, last Saturday, Nana Addo accused the presidency of spending a huge amount of money for the printing of diaries to be distributed to members of the ruling party.

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“I listened to the journalist who is saddened by the revelation that a government can spend $10 million to print presidential diaries. Yes, you heard me right; $10 million. And yet we are barely able to scrape together $10 million as a down payment on our debt to Nigeria for the supply of a truly essential product – gas,” he added.

However, in a response, Stan Dogbe said "No government under the NDC has spent a pesewa of the public purse to produce diaries.

Below are the details of Stan Dogbe's post:

“Ridiculous claims and OUTRIGHT LIES all in the name politics and undying quest to be President. I can't say for when he was a Minister in a government, but sir, you lied."No government under the NDC has spent a pesewa of the public purse to produce diaries. Such diaries have always been paid for from corporate advertising proceeds, and the canvassing for such adverts is the responsibility of the company selected to produce the diaries."$10 million for diaries? You could have looked for a more convincing lie, not this one. And you want to lead the people of Ghana?"

Meanwhile, a deputy Communications Minister Felix Kwakye-Ofosu has added his voice to deny claims that President Mahama had used US$10 million to print presidential diaries.

According to him, the aim of NPP is to engage in a 'campaign of disinformation'.

Below is the unedited version of Felix Kwakye-Ofosu’s post:"So the flagbearer of the NPP has decided to dabble in a campaign of disinformation by claiming that a whopping US $ 10 million was spent on the printing of Presidential diaries. It would have been expected that the media would hold him to strict proof but alas they won’t."Unless the diaries are draped in gold or diamonds, surely it should have occurred to him that the figure he quoted was spectacularly outrageous."He may want to take note of the fact that if given their lavish taste in government between 2001-2008, it was the practice to spend such huge amounts on diaries, we in the NDC are not given to such ostentation."We have adopted a process that ensures that corporate sponsorship is used to finance the printing of limited quantities of diaries."This lack of thoroughness and attention to detail which leads him to make unfounded claims against government explains why his party is in tatters at the moment and in its worst shape ever."