I hope Amidu will not focus only on NDC ex-appointees – Ayine

A former Deputy Attorney General under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Dr Dominic Ayine, has urged Special Prosecutor-designate Martin Amidu not to turn all his attention to alleged corruption cases during the past government leaving that of the current administration.

“I am only hoping the things that he did during the campaign, against the NDC will not motivate him too much in focusing too much attention or all his attention on NDC officials and leaving out current government officials who may or might have been engaged in acts of corruption,” he told journalists on Thursday, January 11 shortly after President Nana Akufo-Addo named the Citizen Vigilante as Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor subject to Parliamentary approval.

Dr Ayine believes that Mr Amidu is “a very tenacious and principled person and I believe that he will do justice for all manner of persons”.

He says even though Mr Amidu is a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), he took certain cases to the Supreme Court which involved the then NDC government which he felt were acts of corruption with the objective of retrieving monies he felt were wrongly paid.

“I believe that even if an NDC official or former NDC official is found or alleged to have engaged in acts of corruption he will go after the person in spite of the fact that he [Mr Amidu] is NDC,” he added.

The MP for Bolgatanga East constituency indicated that Mr Amidu has demonstrated that he is an anti-corruption crusader and “I’m hoping that this will offer him an opportunity to demonstrate to Ghanaians that he is actually someone who is very much against acts of corruption in the system and will fight such acts without fear or favour”.

Meanwhile, former head of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Emile Short, has applauded President Akufo-Addo for naming Mr Amidu as the first Special Prosecutor.

Mr Short said Mr Amidu has been at the fore front of corruption fight in the country and will be accepted across the political divide. For him Mr Amidu has demonstrated his credentials as an anti-corruption crusader and well suited for the office.

“He is a very good individual to occupy this position and we must comment the President for that,” he said in an interview on Joy FM Thursday, January 11.

The Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, nominated Mr Amidu and his nomination was accepted by Nana Akufo-Addo.

Mr Amidu will carry out the extraordinary responsibility to independently fight corruption.

He will have the full authority and control over the investigations and initiations into all suspected corruption and corruption related offences of all persons in public service as well as persons in the private sector.

Mr Amidu was the former Attorney General under the previous National Democratic Congress government led by late President John Evans Atta Mills.