NDC deputies refused the government's proposal to go to Egypt because it was a trap – Nii Lante

General News of Monday, July 29, 2019

Source: primenewsghana.com

2019-07-29

Nii Lante Vandepuye, former Minister of Youth and Sports, said that no member of parliament belonging to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had accepted the offer of the Ministry of Sports to travel to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The deputy from Odododiodio revealed that he had warned his minority colleagues not to embark on the trip when a letter had been tabled in front of the chamber to ask members of parliament who wished to go for the trip. tournament to submit their names.

He said that he foresaw the outcome if they had been part of the trip.

Nii Lante, who mounted an energetic defense on the minority side of the house, said the decision to send MPs to Egypt was a "trap".

"We had about 400 supporters in Egypt, 100 from the National Union of Supporters, the rest being supporters of political parties in different constituencies. For each of them, the chief of staff's office approved $ 50 a day – let's calculate it and see if there were 300. With that, I can tell you that there was not a single member of the CDN. The partisans of the party have succeeded each other over the years and it is not fair. This year too, the partisans are gone. the [Sports] The minister tried to put Parliament in place. A letter was sent to parliament stating that all MPs wishing to travel to Cairo had to register; if they can not, they should nominate someone from their constituency to represent it ",

"But, I told my leaders, they should not go because a trap is set up for you. People were going to spend money, you were spending, so when they come back, you can not criticize them. So none of our members on the minority side left. Some of them were worried because in two days we had close to 80 names. I told them not to go because it was an installation. So they pulled out so that only the members of the select committee of youth, sports and culture left, "he told The Big Issue on Saturday.

Minister of Youth and Sports Isaac Asiamah told the Ghanaian Parliament that $ 4.5 million had been spent on the Black Stars African Nations Cup campaign.

The minister who was in Parliament on July 24, 2019 to answer questions about how the Black Stars behaved in the tournament and reported to the nation said that Ghana had spent $ 6.3 million budget of the Black Stars training camp and the AFCON campaign. Of this amount, $ 4.5 million was used. The remaining $ 1.7 million will be returned to the state.

Ghana played only four games in the tournament and was eliminated in the round of 32 by Tunisia.