NPP 2nd Vice Chair heads to court over fake statements attributed to her in fake Mike Ocquaye report
The Second Vice Chairperson of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Rita Talata Asobayire, has denied media reports suggesting that she blamed the party’s General Secretary for their defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, she never spoke to the Mike Ocquaye committee and is shocked that some statements have been attributed to her and subsequently published by the media.
“I wish to place on record that I made no such statement anywhere. It is complete fabrication by whoever may have authored it for political mischief. As a matter of fact, I have NOT interacted with the Oquaye Committee and have NOT made any appearance before the Committee. I was actually NOT in the jurisdiction at the time the Committee met with the National Executives, and this fact was duly communicated to the Committee,” she stated in a statement she issued on the matter.
Rita Talata Asobayire indicated that she has given her lawyers express instructions to proceed to court to get her name cleared and vindicate her rights.
Read Her Statement Below
My attention has been drawn to a statement making rounds on social media purporting to be a direct quotation coming from me and said to have been captured on Page 66 of the Oquaye Committee Report. The statement alleged that I had told the Oquaye Committee that our General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong “came across as an armchair leader – uninspiring and seemingly unable to keep Appointees accountable”.
This statement attributed to me was also published by Opera News, an online news portal under the headline, “Rift in NPP leadership: Oquaye Report Exposes Cracks as Vice Chairperson Slams General Secretary”. The publication went further to say that I had told the Committee that the inactions of the General Secretary, “contributed significantly to the party’s poor performance”.
I wish to place on record that I made no such statement anywhere. It is complete fabrication by whoever may have authored it for political mischief. As a matter of fact, I have NOT interacted with the Oquaye Committee and have NOT made any appearance before the Committee. I was actually NOT in the jurisdiction at the time the Committee met with the National Executives, and this fact was duly communicated to the Committee.
Beyond that, I am also very much aware that the Party has NOT yet disclosed nor released any portion of the Oquaye Committee’s Report to anybody, and so, all the quotes out there purporting to be from the Report and which are being circulated on social media mainly by activists of the NDC, are completely FALSE. The quote attributed to me is therefore not an exception.
However, given the wide publicity it has received, I take a serious view of the conduct of the author(s) and all those publishing or republishing the statement in the media including Opera News. I demand an immediate cessation of this reprehensible conduct. In the case of Opera News, I demand an immediate retraction and unqualified apology from the publishers.
I have given express instructions to my lawyers to proceed to court to vindicate my rights in the event that my demands are not met. Finally, for the avoidance of doubt, I wish to state emphatically that the General Secretary and I have had an excellent working relationship. His leadership style is marked by firmness and political astuteness. It is therefore inconceivable that I could pass such uncomplimentary verdict on him.
…End…
RITA TALATA ASOBAYIRE
NATIONAL 2nd VICE CHAIRPERSON, NPP
