Credible information available to the New Statesman indicates that
the private conversations of the embattled former deputy Minister of
Communications, Victoria Hammah, were recorded continuously for a period
spanning three months.
The New Statesman can also report that certain persons are in
possession of all the recordings for the period, which they say contain
more “explosive materials which can bring down the entire Mahama
administration in a second.”
Indeed, as of yesterday morning, the New Statesman had gathered that
President John Dramani Mahama had allegedly “pleaded” with an owner of
media networks not to allow any of his stations to air the 3-month long
recordings.
The said owner (name withheld), who is said to be a friend of
President Mahama, according to sources at the radio station, ordered his
staff not to air the other sections of the 3-month long tape in
deference to President Mahama’s request.
It remains unclear if President John Mahama has made similar requests
to other media networks in the country. But a radio programme producer
we contacted yesterday confirmed his station had got the entire tape and
would soon be releasing the recordings in batches.
The New Statesman can also report that prior to the airing of what
has now been termed as “Vikileaks”, a staff at the radio station in
question called Victoria Hammah to inform her about the existence of a
recording of her.
However, according to the staff, who spoke to the New Statesman on
condition of anonymity, Victoria Hammah dared the station to go ahead
and play the tape, allegedly insisting that she had nothing to hide
because she had not been involved in any scandalous affair.
The New Statesman is also reliably informed that the 30-minute long
tape in circulation has been edited as the original tape spans a total
of 42 minutes. Very sensitive portions, according to our source, have
been taken out from the recording, where names of very prominent
Ministers in the Mahama administration were allegedly mentioned by
Victoria Hammah to have indulged themselves in dubious deals, and
amassing millions of Ghana Cedis as a result.
What has been aired so far captures the dismissed deputy
communications minister telling a friend that Minister for Gender,
Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, played an instrumental
role in securing victory for President Mahama and the National
Democratic Congress in the 2012 presidential election petition trial and
that she even saw the judges before the judgment was given.
Mrs Oye Lithur, wife of the president’s counsel, Tony Lithur, has
denied the claims made against her, describing them as “outrageous and
preposterous.”
Those in possession of the entire 90-day recordings say other
information on the tape is more explosive than what is now in the public
domain.
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