A leading Member of the New Patriotic Party, Yaw Osafo Maafo, has expressed delight at his party’s ability to raise substantial money at a fundraising dinner held on Friday at the Banquet Hall of the State House to fuel its campaign for the 2008 elections. He congratulated the organizing team for a good work done and described the event as a “first class”. Speaking on News File, a Joy Fm current affairs programme on Saturday, Mr. Osafo Maafo said even though he could not readily quantify the amount raised, “it was quite a bit of money…I think we did well”. He said contributions came in by way of seating categorisation, where those who sat on what was termed the ‘president’s table’ had to pay GH¢5000 and those who sat on the ‘vice president’s table’ paid GH¢3000. Even though the tickets, he said, were “very expensive”, they were all sold out to the extent that the organizers had to resell the already sold ones. He explained that about half of the people who bought the tickets did not show up, which compelled them to resell their empty seats to those who could not buy the tickets in advance but had turned up in their numbers at the function. Mr. Osafo Maafo, who is the NPP Member of Parliament for Akim Oda and also a minister at various portfolios, said the party’s funds would mainly be expensed on three main things; accommodation, fuel and food. The fundraiser also saw the auctioning of a pick-up vehicle, paintings and furniture among other things. The party’s campaign team has since returned to the Central Region were it has been campaigning since Thursday. Story by Isaac Essel