Double Salary Scandal: Akufo-Addo instructed former AG not to prosecute MPs – Amidu alleges

Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has alleged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stood in the way of the former Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo and stopped her from bringing criminal charges against Members of Parliament (MPs) who were alleged to have been involved in the infamous double-salary scandal.

The citizen vigilante claims the action of the president in the matter was for “political expediency”. In his latest epistle which reports to a media report that he took over the prosecution of the scandal but did nothing before resigning his post, Mr Amidu refuted the claims, counterclaiming it was the interference of the president that foiled prosecutions.

“The credible information I received on the case is and was that the then-Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions had both perused the case docket and had come to the conclusion that charges be filed against some of the suspects for prosecution. The Attorney General was instructed not to do so by the President who unconstitutionally usurped the investigatory and prosecutorial constitutional authority of the Attorney General on grounds of political expediency of having the suspects agreeable to play ball in Parliament for the Government”, he said.

He also alleged that President Akufo-Addo used the scandal together and other criminal cases to negotiate a deal with the NDC for his ministerial appointees to be approved en mass, including those who were required to give further and better particulars before approval. This negotiation he alleged was led by an NDC former Finance Minister.

“The statement attributed to the Office of the Attorney General about recently resuming “working on establishing a prima facie case against the ex-appointees and then swing into action” cannot also be reflecting any factual truth because of negotiations led by one of the former Ministers of Finance of the NDC on behalf of this Government which resulted in the NDC party outside Parliament instructing the NDC in Parliament to approve all the Ministerial nominees of the Government including the Minister who was yet to supply further and better particulars to the appointments committee for consideration before his approval or disapproval by the Committee and by Parliament”.

He further claimed that parts of the negotiation led “to some NDC contractors being paid for the first time for work done prior to 7th January 2017 before the ministerial approvals were made as a show of good faith to the NDC…”