Two-time Guinness World Record (GWR) singing marathon candidate Afua Asantewaa Owusu Aduonum has dispelled rumours she was given an SUV as a tourism ambassador.

She spoke to Nana Romeo on Accra 100.5 FM’s Ayekoo Ayekoo.

“Funny enough, last year when we about to do the second attempt, I typed my name online and looked at the stories that came up. I was shocked to see a story that said I had been given a V8 [vehicle]. I exclaimed, ‘Eii, where is it?’ I never had a V8,” the serial entrepreneur said.

She noted “people” had become “bitter,” mistakenly accusing her of “using state funds,” as a result of such rumours.

“They said I’d even been given an apartment, also, but I live in my own house, by God’s grace,” she added, indicating this was why she was in the habit of speaking up, attempting to clear her name.

Afua Asantewaa said she was ready to appear before the President John Mahama-led government’s accountability taskforce responsible for the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) intiative.

“I’ve taken nothing from the government. The only thing I received was medicine to heal my throat [after singing] given to me by former Vice President [Mahamudu Bawumia] when he visited me [during the 2023 attempt]. I’ve kept it. It was very significant,” she underlined.

She made the surprising revelation that much of the monies and other gifts donated to her during her famed December 2023 sing-a-thon did not get to her.

“There was a team handling me. Some people came wearing Afua Asantewaa-branded t-shirts claiming to be volunteers, also. Someone may take donations and not hand them over. I don’t even have a list that shows this individual gave me this or that. So people may be bitter for reasons I have no clue off,” she said.

“The last one I remember is someone who told me they brought me a pack of [energy drinks].”

Afua Asantewaa bemoaned during her initial attempt, “it became so difficult to control certain things.

“There were people present who pretended to be part of our team. They were not part of it. I was in the box, helpless, without access to my phone, and all that.”

She thanked members of the public who donated but felt slighted for not being recognised.

“In a way, while the gift may not have reach me personally, it may have sorted out the team. It may have been food, which didn’t get to me, but it’s probable the team was fed and kept the programme running,” she added.

“Forgive us, too,” she futher urged.

“It was beyond our expectations. Had we expected gifts, we would have designated a table and a team specifically for that as they do at weddings, and other events. We didn’t know it was going to result in this. That said, it is something I’d forever hold dear in my heart, given the kindness Ghanaians showed us. So forgive us, I had no clue.”