While the Regional Chairman, Mr Salifu Ali Dayinday, says the Secretary, Mr Titus Eshun, and the Treasurer, Mr Mike Ofori, withdrew the amount without his knowledge as the principal signatory, the two officials insist that they did so under his (Dayinday) instructions.

This has resulted in the interdiction of Mr Eshun and Mr Ofori by the regional executive committee, but the two officers have asked the national executive and party members to treat the interdiction as “a lie”.

A letter signed by Mr Dayinday stated that the executive committee had interdicted the two officers for conniving to withdraw the amount from the party’s account at the Sunyani Market Branch of the GCB Bank without the knowledge of the chairman.

"This letter constitutes the official notice of your interdiction and prohibits you from performing any functions on behalf of the party pending disciplinary investigation and subsequent determination of your membership in the party," the letter stated.

The letter added that the conduct of the two officers had been referred to the disciplinary committee in accordance with Article 113 (2) of the CPP Constitution.
"You are, therefore, directed to prepare handover notes. Any property which is in your possession must be handed over to the administrator latest by April 14, 2022.

Confirmation

Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the issue, Mr Dayinday explained that the national executive gave the regional executive GH¢4,000 for the hiring of a place for use as regional office.

He explained that because the amount was insufficient to cover the hiring of an office for a long period, the party decided to save it until it got more money for the purpose.

Mr Dayinday said he went to the bank last Tuesday to check the account in order to brief the executive committee about its financial status.

"I was shocked to find that GH¢3,900 out of the GH¢4,000.00 we had in the account had been withdrawn," he said.

He said checks from the bank's officials revealed that Mr Eshun and Mr Ofori signed the cheque to withdraw the amount on March 11, 2022.

Mr Dayinday said efforts by both officials of the party and the bank to retrieve the amount since the act was uncovered had not yielded any result.

"Even though it is appropriate for us to have caused the arrest of the two officers, we want to use the party's structures to arrive at a decision,” he stated.

Treasurer's side

When contacted, Mr Ofori indicated that the regional chairman instructed him to check the accounts to find out whether it had been affected by bank deductions.

"When I checked the account, I found out that the over GH¢4,200.00 had reduced to GH¢3,900.00 plus. I informed the regional secretary and we withdrew the GH¢3,900.00," he said.

Asked why he did not inform the regional chairman who is the principal signatory of the account, Mr Ofori said he was not aware that the regional chairman was the principal signatory of the account.

"The money is with me. I will deposit it later," he said.

Response letter

A copy of a response letter made available to the Daily Graphic by Mr Eshun confirmed the assertion by Mr Ofori that the two withdrew the money because of an instruction from the chairman.

According to the letter, there had not been any regional executive committee meeting during which Mr Eshun and Mr Ofori were interdicted.

It, therefore, called on the national executives of CPP to treat the interdiction as "a lie".