Nobody can force me out, not even Akufo-Addo - Auditor-General

Ghana’s Auditor-General, Mr Daniel Domelevo, has said he will neither resign voluntarily nor be pushed out of office by any pressure group.

Civil society group Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) recently said it will petition President Nana Akufo-Addo to remove Mr Domelevo over alleged procurement breaches at the Audit Service in connection with the purchase of some Toyota vehicles worth GHS6 million.

The pressure group had earlier asked the Attorney General to commence criminal investigations into the matter but in its latest statement, AFAG has asked the Auditor-General to resign or be sacked by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

In a yet-to-be-aired interview with Blessed Sogah, host of State of the Nation on Class91.3FM, Mr Domelevo said not even President Akufo-Addo can remove him from office.

Reading from the Audit Service regulation, the Auditor-General said: “It says: ‘The Board further directed that because the state had obtained services and in order to avert financial loss to the state through judgment debt, instant steps should be taken by the Ghana Audit Service to pay the supplier after verifying the outstanding debt.

“So, they directed us, they didn’t say they asked us that: ‘Go ahead and pay’. So, at that point in time, it is a legal liability, it is a debt which is genuine...so, AFAG, they don’t know what they are talking about…”

“I’ll never resign because of their pressure. The day I wish I go home; I’ll just walk out of the office. There are two things when I came to office, I’ve said I don’t fear and one is resignation – leaving my office. I can decide to walk any time but you can’t push me out of my office. That will never happen, not even the president. I won’t go unless he goes through the full steps that the law allows, I’ll not go”, he insisted.

“The second thing, which is the ultimate for you and me, is death. I said I don’t fear if you want to kill me in my office, I’m ready to die but when I die make sure you don’t die.”