A.BA. Fuseini Fingers Baako In 15 Billion Saga�It�s Stupidity & Infantile Nonsense Says Mr. Baako

The rumpus generated by the 2008 audit report on the Ministry of Information which suggests that some GH�1.5 million of the Tema Oil Refinery Debt Recovery Fund was misspent under the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration under a project called the Communications Strategy is becoming interesting by the day as two seasoned Journalists, Messrs A.B.A Fuseini and Malik Kweku Baako slugged it out on the airwaves spewing allegations and accusations at each other. The slug fest began when A.B.A. Fuseini, Night Editor of the Daily Graphic, who also doubles as the Council Chairman of the Ghana Institute of Journalism, questioned the recent opulence of Mr. Baako alleging that, the �New Crusading Guide� editor is a beneficiary of the 15 billion old Ghana cedis saga and had also enjoyed significantly from the erstwhile NPP administration�s largesse. The audit pointed out that Section 6 (1) of the Debt Recovery (Tema Oil Refinery) Fund Act, 2003 states that �The monies assigned to the Fund shall only be disbursed for the purpose of payment of debt incurred by the Tema Oil refinery Company and any interest accruing on those basis.� But according to the �Enquirer� newspaper, rather than spend the money for the purposes for which the fund was set up, however, 15billion cedis of the debt recovery fund was squandered in prosecuting New Patriotic Party (NPP) government�s 2008 electoral agenda, through various groups, comprising of party apparatchiks, serial callers, and journalists who had turned guard dogs. Ex-President Kufuor�s Cabinet and the Ministry of Finance withdrew and diverted billions of Cedis from the TOR Debt Recovery Fund and squandered it on NPP propaganda towards the 2008 elections, under the guise of a �Government Communication Strategy Programme.� A.B.A had alleged on PEACEFM NEWS and later on CitiFM that Kweku Baako is living beyond his means and should be investigated, evidenced in his (Baako�s) purchase of a �$ 350,000 mansion� despite his newspaper not having a wider circulation. But an infuriated Kweku Baako, when reached for his comments on CitiFM called on A.B.A Fuseini to lay his evidence before the appropriate state agency for the matter to be unraveled and stop his constant rantings. �Here we are, this gentleman you�re talking to for 8-9 years, has been peddling this same allegation or series of allegations�he�s so sure of himself�Alhaji A.B.A�has his gov�t in power. All he must do now is to compile the evidence he has that Kweku Baako and perhaps other colleagues of the so-called coffee shop mafia�to go and give the evidence to those people�so that this raving and ranting on radio consistently without providing a shred of evidence�which is endless and useless�infact, it�s the game of lunatics.� He continued; �As a private citizen, I�m not under obligation to declare my assets to anybody�to any lawful authority in Ghana�but I�m still prepared if he�s able to go to the appropriate state agencies, IRS,� and give them even a shred of evidence, the useless proof he is saying, based on mere suspicion�I will go with my lawyers and we�ll be interrogated, I�ll obliged as a law-abiding citizen. I�ll like us to deal with the matter that way otherwise what we�re doing is to fuel this oxygen to the stupidity that A.B. Fuseini is putting on-air,� he added. A clearly worked up Mr. Baako described Alhaji Fuseini�s allegations as �stupid and infantile nonsense� and vowed to return every salvo launched at him by his colleague Senior journalist. �So I�m saying I�ve decided for a long time, I decided not to react to his stupidity and infantile nonsense. But I�ve decided�that each time he speaks and I am called, unless I don�t hear, I�m told he spoke on PEACEFM and I didn�t hear and he got away with it. But each time he speaks anywhere that Kweku Baako is called, I�ll make myself available unless I�m dead, to continue dealing with him�.He�s a journalist, but he�s also political and he�s backing this gov�t�So he�s a hypocrite if he says he doesn�t have political lineage,� he stated. When asked should his name appear on the list as one of the journalists alleged to have benefitted from the 15billion cedis �chop chop�, Mr Baako replied, �first of all, I�m not aware of any list�Those who have this list, it is their responsibility in the name of public accountability�to put the list out there�and those persons whose names belong to will be required to respond,� he countered. Not to be undone by the scale of abusive censure being directed at him, Alhaji Fuseini, who could not produce any evidence to back his claims, labeled Mr. Baako a �Charlatan� and promised to �unmasked� him. �What do you call evidence�that I should bring you this thing he�s signed and taken money? This guy, this charlatan who�s just spoken to you, you know his record�Today he has the effrontery to talk about strict proof�Shamima, shouldn�t it strike you if a journalist can buy a mansion for over $ 350,000?�Kweku Baako�, his paper cannot sell even 1000 copies�the former guy he used to work with, Sedi Bansah, he put something in the public domain about Kweku Baako and things he has gone and taken�on behalf of people and pocketed�Ask him how come his paper, he had to change it from �Crusading Guide� to �New Crusading Guide�? What happened?...He�s a charlatan and I�m telling you that this guy will be unmasked�I have cited areas of professional misconduct he has engaged in�Let him come out and say specifically you published this on so so date with your byline�.,� Alhaji Fuseini said. It became a ding-dong affair as the Editor-In-Chief of the �New Crusading Guide�, staggered by this accusation, enumerated several instances of professional misconduct on the part of the Night Editor of the �Daily Graphic�. �We are dealing with a character who is unable to prove any point. He�s talking of Sedi Bansah. I throw a challenge to Citifm�to locate Sedi Bansah�Find out if what A.B.A Fuseini is attributing to him, he has said so privately and publicly�.and when he says he�s ready, let him come forward, and I, Kweku Baako, will be in you studio�.My last point, A.B.A. Fuseini was the conduit of a story from the BNI in 1966, on a $60 million cocaine bust that happened in London. A.B.A sent the story to Graphic�trying to destroy me and Kwesi Pratt�Beyond that, he did a story about Moslems being low-grade and uneducated which created chaos in Accra, leading to demonstrations�None of us is perfect, I�ve never claimed perfection anywhere�because it is not possible. But this man, who claims to the apostle of ethical journalism, it�s about time we put him out there,� he stressed.