Alhaji Raji: It’s a PHD tactic at me
Under-fire GHALCA chairman, Alhaji Raji Ali, has described the derogatory ethnic remarks attributed to him as a calculated attempt by his opponents to run or pull him down (PHD) ahead of the upcoming elections.
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Reacting to allegations linking him to a disparaging comment purportedly made by him against Aduana Stars and the people of Brong Ahafo during the G6 tournament in Sekondi, the sober-looking Raji perceived the whole issue as a clandestine move by some people mainly to discredit him since he never made any such comment.
“There is no truth in that allegation. All the three witnesses who were supposed to have heard what I said have come out to deny it,” he explained.
The GHALCA chairman, who was watching the recent G6 group match between Aduana Stars and Medeama in the company of the president of Medeama, Moses Armah (Mospacka), and two others, is alleged to have made an unsavoury comment which showed his bias against the Brong Ahafo club.
‘“made a comment to Mospacka during the break of the Aduana and Medeama match and the people around can testify about what I said,’’ he explained.
But in an interview with the Graphic Sports at the Movenpick Hotel in Accra yesterday, the embattled Raji declined to hazard a guess regarding the particular allegation being levelled against him, insisting that he had no idea about the whole issue.
‘‘I believe it was out of annoyance; if you are hurt anything can happen. I didn’t say that and under no circumstance would I have said that.
“No serious Ghanaian can say that because B.A. is a part of the country with a lot of potential for development and I also get my raw materials from that region.’’
Beyond the G6 tournament, Raji thought the whole issue was an agenda by his opponents to make him unpopular prior to the upcoming GHALCA elections in April.
“It is clear that all these things are coming from my opponents. It is a deliberate attempt by my electoral opponents to tarnish my image but they should wait and come forward when the time comes.”
He appealed to Brong Ahafo clubs who are threatening to quit GHALCA because of the case in question to reconsider the decision and separate the association from his person.
“I want to plead with the clubs to take us back to where we belong; they must know that GHALCA didn’t make that statement,”
The GHALCA boss described the novelty G6 tournament as a good advertisement for Ghana Football since all the competing clubs exhibited aquality display of soccer to dismiss the notion that the standard of the league is low.
He was full of praise for the media for their massive support to ensure the success of the tournament and urged all stakeholders to come on board to maintain the G6.
