Martin Amidu’s damning verdict on Akufo-Addo’s corruption fight

Having worked as the government's lead figure in the anti-corruption fight for the last two years, Martin Amidu has come to the realization it is highly impossible for the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to effectively stamp out the canker of corruption.

Amidu was appointed in 2018 to occupy the novel Special Prosecutor seat with the sole objective of dealing with corruption and all corruption-related matters.

But Amidu has walked out on the job, having occasionally dropped hints of attempts by certain government officials to frustrate him and stifle his works.

Amidu, in a quite unusual and explosive manner, went straight at the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and accused him of interfering in his work, after which he announced his resignation.

Amidu made it known in the statement that aside the death of Jerry John Rawlings and the ‘traumatic treatment’ he had as a result of his corruption risk assessment of the Agyapa Royalties deal, he is not confident about the future of government’s corruption fight.

Amidu says, in the last but two paragraphs of the statement, that based on what he has witnessed in the last two years, the future of a ‘non-partisan corruption fight’ in the Akufo-Addo government is extremely bleak.

“I am most grateful for every assistance and support Your Excellency Mr President, offered me since my appointment on February 23, 2018. Regrettably, our wishes have not materialized during Your Excellency’s first terms in Office for obvious operational and political reasons, we now fundamentally disagree on a non-partisan professional approach to prevention of corruption and fighting corruption to make it a high-risk enterprise for public officers”.

“I also do not see any serious non-partisan prospect of any improvement in preventing and fighting corruption in Your Excellency’s next term of Office in 2021. My view has always been that if I cannot assist Your Excellency, Mr President in a non-partisan professional way to prevent corruption and to fight corruption, I should not hurt Your Excellency by continuing to occupy the position of Special Prosecutor”, Part of the statement reads. Amidu’s resignation has come as a disappointment to anti-corruption campaigners who argue that corruption has yet gotten another one over the country.

Franklin Cudjoe, the President of IMANI Africa said in a Twitter post that Amidu’s resignation is a blow to the fight against corruption.

“Martin Amidu has been defeated by corruption” Franklin Cudjoe tweeted.