Ayariga was paid to cough at IEA debate – Ken Agyapong

The flag bearer of the All People’s Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga was paid to cough to distract the presentation of Nana Akufo-Addo at the 2012 Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) presidential debate, Mr Kennedy Agyapong has said.

According to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Mr Ayariga, who was at the time the People’s National Convention (PNC) Presidential candidate, was given money for that purpose.

“A close confidant of Hassan Ayariga has come out to openly confess this to me that Hassan Ayariga was paid huge sums of money to do that…to cough just to distract Nana Akufo-Addo…,” Mr Agyapong alleged on Accra based Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen radio Programme on Tuesday.

Mr Ayariga got the nickname- Ayaricof- after he incessantly coughed to distract the presentations of Nana Akufo-Addo during the debate.

Social media was awash with various pictures that sought to ridicule the PNC flagbearer at the time as a comedian.

Members of the PNC who felt ashamed by the behaviour of their flagbearer at the time also criticized him, and he was subsequently denied the opportunity to represent the party in 2016.

Angered by that, Mr Ayariga left the PNC and formed the APC where he was elected flagbearer for the 2016 elections.

In a radio interview on Class FM as part of his campaign recently, the APC flagbearer attacked Nana Addo once more for still occupying his father’s house.

“At age 72, my senior and my father, Nana Akufo-Addo, is still living in his father’s house. At this age, 72, I would have retired from politics and be advising young men of this country to move this country forward and not contest with them anymore,” he said.

And this comment, Mr Agyapong said, can only come from someone who is partaking in politics because it is now "cheap."

“A fianga boy like you who sells pizza, what do you mean, can you be compared to Nana Addo…we have to stop politics because of such persons like him…,” he exclaimed on the show.

He said the line of argument of Mr Ayariga shows he was unworthy to partake in the politics of the country as he lacks a basic idea of basic governance.

Mr Ayariga later called in to the show and said he was surprised the likes of Ken Agyapong cannot contain ‘a simple truth’ from him.

“Is it not true Nana Addo is staying in his father’s house…is he living in my house, it’s a shame. As a grown up like Nana Addo, there are many of his siblings who can live there not him, he should go and live in his own house…,” he demanded.

When his attention was drawn to the fact that Nana Addo had a house at East Legon, Hassan Ayariga maintained that he still doesn’t care about that.

source: Adomonline.com