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General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia wonders why the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is so bent on tarnishing the image and integrity of Ibrahim Mahama, the younger brother of President John Dramani Mahama. According to him, the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz is legal and sees no reason why the NPP should raise any objections. For Mr. Asiedu Nketia, the matter would be brought to a proper closure if begging questions are adequately answered by stakeholders of the transaction. He pointed out that the loan given to Ibrahim Mahama�s Engineers and Planners was not facilitated by the NDC government in 2007 when the NDC was then in opposition, but by the NPP who (were in government and) are now seeking vivid clarification in the sale of the Bank. Speaking in relation to a five-point query issued as part of a statement on Friday January 10, 2014, the NDC General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia said, �The good people of Ghana eagerly await answers to these questions to put the Merchant Bank issue at rest.� The NDC wants questions about conflict of interest on the part of President Mahama, President Mills or any other NDC government official in the granting, disbursement or recovery effort of Merchant Bank of any loan to Engineers and Planners or any of the other leading loan defaulters to be properly addressed. According to the NDC General Secretary, that question is �the main reason why the leadership of NDC got interested in this debate.� Another issue that the NDC believes would put the matter to rest is, how Merbank got to its current predicament, necessitating a sale which critics say had no value for money. He also asked if the sale was in the best interest of the workers of Ghana and the nation at large such that nothing else could have been done. The statement also asked for explanations about whether the representatives of workers (contributors of SSNIT) were involved in all the Board decisions of SSNIT on the sale. Merbank�s woes have been mostly blamed on its huge bad debt portfolio, particularly from E&P owned by Ibrahim Mahama. E&P owes the bank, formed with pension funds of Ghanaian workers, an amount estimated at over GH�60million since 2007, a debt which forms 30 percent of the bank�s bad debt portfolio. The NDC chief scribe noted that if E&P is unable to pay back its debt to Merchant bank, then the NPP should be blamed. �If the NPP is claiming the deal smacks of corruption when the loan was granted to Engineers and Planners, then we should ask who is likely to have done that? Why are they (NPP) blaming President Mahama who knows nothing about the loan?� he asked. General Mosquito, as he is called in political circles, told Adom FM, he strongly believes that Ibrahim Mahama is more of an NPP person than NDC since his late biological mother, Madam Joyce Tamakloe, was a good friend of ex-President Kufuor. He claimed that when she died of cancer, ex-President Kufuor was said to have made a generous financial contribution towards her burial. Adding that one of Madam Tamakloe�s daughters, Hawa, is married to Kwame Agyeman, a nephew of the then Chief of Staff and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Kwadwo Okyere Mpianim. Nonetheless, Asiedu Nketia further said, Madam Tamakloe, who is said to have raised President Mahama, never ceased extolling Kufuor�s virtues to friends, who cared to listen until her death. �Ibrahim Mahama�s mother is also reported to be a sister to the NPP founding member, Dr. Nyaho-Nyaho Tamakloe. Indeed, it is claimed that due to her closeness to President Kufuor, she became a supporter of the NPP,� Gen Mosquito added.