Abuga Pele's sentence too harsh - Inusah Fuseini

Member of Parliament for Tamale Central and former Minister for Road and High ways, Hon. Alhaji Inusah Fuseini says the sentence meted out to former coordinator of the NYEP Hon. Abuga Pele was too harsh.

According to him, it was negligent on his part to have caused financial loss to the state and that he deserved 2 years.

“There are others who even 2 years for willfully causing financial loss to the state, so why should Abuga Pele's case be different?” he asked.

A High Court convicted former NYEP boss and former member of parliament for Chiana Paga, Abuga Pele and a private service provider, Philip Assibit, after they were found guilty of 19 counts including dishonestly causing financial loss to the state.

The Court was satisfied that the prosecution had proved 13 of the 19 counts Abuga Pele faced ranging from aiding and abetting crime to willfully causing financial loss to the state.

Some of the counts included intentionally misapplying public property and dishonestly causing loss to public property.

Speaking on Okay FM's ‘Ade Akye Abia’ programme, the former minister explained that he should have been sentenced to 2 years as 6 years for a negligent offence is too harsh, making it look as if he willfully caused financial loss to the state.

“I think I sympathize entirely with Abuga Pele but on the matter of law it’s clearly an afterthought. There are many processes that one has to go through before you decide whether or not to engage someone to perform a contract”, he said.

Abuga Pele was a Member of Parliament for Chiana-Paga before he was appointed Head of NYEP, which was later renamed Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA).

He however denied reports that former Sports Minister has said that the NDC will release the former NYEP coordinator when they are elected into power 2020.

He says that is not the position of the party

His counterpart Philip Akpeena Assibit who was the CEO of Goodwill International Ghana (GIG) was also found guilty of six of the 19 counts he faced including defrauding by false pretence.