The Sissala East Constituency Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress is in the full grip of the Police for allegedly being involved in the issuance and sale of fake fertilizer coupons under the Government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs programme.
Baku Rafik was arrested in Bolgatanga on Thursday, November 8, following a tip-off by a Staff of Food and Agriculture Ministry in the Upper East Region.
Information gathered by a1radioonline.com indicates Mr. Baku has been transferred from Bolgatanga to the National CID Headquarters for further investigations.
The NDC Chairman, who is said to be a fertiliser distributor was said to have issued over 5,000 fake fertilizer coupons and presented them as genuine to suppliers for claims.
According to information, the negative operations of some distributors issuing fake coupons came to the attention of the acting National Director of Crop Services, Seth Akoto, who caused investigations to be conducted across the country.
In the course of the investigations, the name of Baku Rafik, who is a local distributor for one of the companies contracted by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to supply organic fertilizers to farmers, came up as the suspect behind the deal.
A security expert, name withheld, feigned interest and therefore sought assistance of Mr. Baku for fertiliser business. The NDC Constituency Chairman then obliged and allegedly promised to supply him with some fake fertilizer coupons.
The two then agreed to meet in Bolgatanga where the business would be transacted. On Thursday November 8, Baku Rafik drove to Bolgatanga hoping to transact business with his “partner” but luck however ran out on him after realizing the person he was dealing with was a Staff of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, working together with the Police in the Upper East Region to apprehend him. He was subsequently arrested by the Police, before the transfer to the Criminal Investigation Department headquarters in Accra.
According to reports, Mr. Baku is part of a bigger cartel of groups and individuals engaged in smuggling and sale of fake fertilizer coupons under the Government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs programme.
His arrest comes few weeks after the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Hon. Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto visited the three regions in the North and pledged a crackdown on unscrupulous elements sabotaging the Government’s flagship programme.
Source: a1radioonline.com/101.1MHz/Ghana
