NPP National Chairman dares CHRAJ over party bus deal

Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party, Freddie Blay has dared anti-graft body to cause his arrest over his alleged failure to cooperate with investigations into the procurement of 275 buses for his party.

The 77-year old politician maintained he has not received any subpoena which the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has claimed to have sent to his office nor is he evading the invitation.

CHRAJ is mulling over initiating contempt proceedings against Mr Blay but the party leader who is also a lawyer, wants the anti-graft body to bring it on.

“Ask for a court order and come and arrest Freddie Blay for being recalcitrant,” he said in an interview with JoyNews Parker Wilson.

Six days short of a year, CHRAJ says it has been unable to make much progress on a petition by a group, Coalition for Social Justice, which has alleged the buses were procured through corruption.

This is despite information by Mr Blay, that at least a bank is financing in part, the purchase of the buses while Freddie Blay who is Board chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Commission, has also made a $3million down-payment.

Under the deal as disclosed by Freddie Blay, the loan is to be paid back within two years.

The deal was a popular promise with NPP delegates ahead of the election of National Executives. Each constituency would receive some money as the bus works for it at STC transport company.

But critics inside the party called it a vote-buying gimmick while those outside it found the deal suspicious.

Since the July 2018 petition to CHRAJ, no finality has been brought to the saga.

Freddie Blay has insisted he had done nothing illegal. He expressed bafflement that CHRAJ would go around “telling the whole world”, he is escaping investigations.

“If they are playing politics they should tell me,” he said.