Hajia Gariba's accusation is "wicked and malicious" -Haruna Iddrisu

Minister of Communication, Haruna Iddrisu has questioned the motive behind the accusation by Deputy Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Hajia Hawawu Boya Gariba, that he masterminded the attack on her on Sunday evening.

According to the Minister, the accusation by Hajia Gariba is as a result of her “unsuccessful bid to win the NDC primary.”

He described the accusation as “wicked and malicious.”

Attack on Deputy Minister

The Deputy Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs, Hajia Hawawu Boya Gariba had accused the Communication Minister of masterminding the attack on her on Sunday evening.

According to the Deputy Minister the attack on her by a certain Mma Kande whilst she was at the hairdressing salon was a plot by the Communication Minister to brand her as “quarrelsome” and thus drag her reputation into disrepute.

According to sources, Mma Kande on Sunday evening reportedly pounced on the Deputy Minister who was being attended to by a pregnant hairdresser.

She narrated to host of Peacefm’s morning show, Kwame Sefa Kayi that her attacker held her by the neck thus resulting in her dress to rip off. She said the hairdresser was pushed down as a result.

Hajia Gariba further disclosed that a small boy with whom she was with at the salon in an attempt to stop Mma Kande pushed her to the floor, thus resulting in her bruises.

She dismissed allegations that she ordered her “macho” men to beat Mma Kande and further accused the Minister of Communication of organizing some men in the constituency to attack her.

She described Haruna Iddrisu as “a bad person” who is “fighting against the president.”

The one time Women’s Organizer for Haruna Iddrisu accused him of doing all he can “to strip me of my position.”

She said Haruna Iddrisu and John Jinapor had on several occasions maltreated her and cited an incident in May where she said, ‘John Jinapor slapped me in front of the army commander. I reported to the then Vice President but nothing has been done about it.”

“Haruna and Jinapor have been doing all they can to strip me of my position. They’ve been doing everything they can to paint me black; to let people know that I am a bad person,” she said.

Haruna Iddrisu clears his name

In a separate interview with the host, Haruna Iddrisu denied all the allegations by the Deputy Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs.

He described the allegations as “wicked and malicious lies”, which according to him, “will not stand.”

According to him, on the said night, he was with some motor riders who were preparing feverishly to welcome President Mahama in Tamale as part of his ‘Thank You Tour”.

He said, “I didn’t leave my home yesterday because the motor riders kept coming to my house for T. shirts.”

Haruna Iddrisu further explained that at about 5 pm to 6 pm, he received a call the Deputy Minister was fighting.

It was then that, according to him, he stepped out to verify and upon reaching the scene, he was met by a mob who were threatening to beat the Deputy Minister up for allegedly ordering the beating of Mma Kande.

He said, there was a huge police presence that were up in arms to prevent the angry youth from attacking Hajia Gariba and attempt to rescue her.

He noted that, at that point, he saw the Youth Chief of Yane and with his help; they managed to rescue the Deputy Minister.

Haruna Iddrisu, therefore, questioned the motive behind Hajia Gariba’s accusations.

He said, “Boya is just seeking an alibi by accusing me and she must retract and make an unqualified apology to my person. It took me years to build that reputation.”

When the host questioned why his onetime women’s organizer would accuse him, this is what he had to say: “I think Hajia Boya has sour grapes arising out of her unsuccessful bid to win the NDC primaries and she thinks I facilitated it.”

“It’s an attempt by her to assassinate my character and drag my name into disrepute,” he added.

He, therefore, called on the IGP to launch an investigation into the matter “after which he should make it public in order that my reputation will not be assaulted.”