The New Patriotic Party in the Ashanti Region has described as baseless, claims that the party has for the past three years not paid rent for using its Ashanti Regional party office.

On Friday, November 19, 2021, a meeting by members of the Tertiary Education Students’ Confederacy of the New Patriotic Party at the Ashanti Regional secretariat was reportedly disrupted following allegations by supposed owners of the facility that the leadership of the party had failed to pay their rent.

The said persons declined to speak to Citi News on the details concerning the tenancy agreement.

But speaking on behalf of the party’s leadership in the Ashanti Region, Samuel Pyne, who was the party’s Ashanti Regional Secretary until his recent appointment as Kumasi Mayor, said the party owes no rent for occupying the building.

According to him, the party only last month made a payment of GHS 30,000 to the landlady and her family following an earlier GHS 50,000 payment to continue their occupancy.

“I am surprised about the news item on social media that we owe… It is true that we rented the premises for our operations. We have an agreement with the landlady and I handed a cheque of GHS 50,000 to the family as continuation of our stay here. Just last month, we gave them additional GHS 30,000 as part of the agreement on the tenancy so I was surprised that someone was saying that we owe,” he said.

Sam Pyne said he had decided to stay mute over the matter but was getting troubled about the embarrassment and damage the claims were doing to the image of the party.

He told Citi News the claims that the party had failed to maintain the facility to put it in a good shape were also false, noting that the party recently made arrangements for the building to the assessed and an invoice has been issued for its renovation.

He further noted that the party was doing its part as a good tenant to the extent of providing free water and electricity to some facilities in the compound at its own expense.

“We pay for the electricity and water for the boys quarters so I am quite surprised. Discard that story. We don’t owe anybody… For whoever is making those claims we don’t have an agreement with that person. Those that we have an agreement with, they don’t have any issue with us.”

Mr. Sam Pyne however said the party is putting up its own structure to serve as the regional secretariat.