Oslo scandal: Akufo-Addo not committed to fight corruption – Ablakwa

The minority in Parliament Thursday questioned President Akufo-Addo’s commitment to fighting corruption in his administration following his outright rejection of claim of price inflation in the purchase of a building in Oslo, Norway for use as Ghana’s embassy.

The property, the Minority alleged was purchased at a cost of $12.1 million instead of $3.5 million and that it is considering petitioning the Special Prosecutor or CHRAJ to probe the transaction.

But addressing the allegation for the first time, President Akufo-Addo dismissed it as baseless during his second media encounter with the press in 2018 on Wednesday.

“Clearly, it is the pattern of the opposition. Throw these accusations in the air, when they are debunked we don’t hear anything about it and they just moved to the next allegation. That’s what we have seen,” he said.

“The allegations are made, they are found to be empty, we just moved on and fabricate the next one and it will go on and it is going to get worse. 2019, a year to the election and these people are so desperate, it is going to get worse. The fabrications will continue and continue,” he stressed.

But speaking to Starr News, minority spokesperson on Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said the statement by the President is unfortunate and a clear indication of his un-readiness to fight corruption in his government.

“Yesterday at the president’s media encounter, what the president succeeded in doing was to convince all of us that he is not committed to the fight against corruption.

“The President’s posture to suggest that the Oslo scandal are just a creation of the Minority and that they are just mere allegations, nothing more to show for it. When everybody in Ghana knows that this whole Oslo affair began with the foreign ministry presenting documents to us that they are going to purchase properties in Oslo for 16.5million dollars,” he said.