We cannot ignore Amidu’s allegations against Akufo-Addo - PPP

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has suggested that the reasons assigned by Mr Martin Amidu for his resignation are disturbing and an affront to any genuine effort in the fight against corruption.

Running mate of the party Mr. Kofi Asamoah-Siaw addressing a press conference in Elmina noted that the issues Mr Amidu raised in his resignation letter should not be politicized, downplayed, and swept under the carpet as they confirm our long-held position of corruption in this government.

“Mr Amidu makes the point that when he delivered the conclusions and observations of the analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessment of the Agyapa Royalties Ltd Transaction, it convinced him beyond every reasonable doubt that the President had laboured under the mistaken belief that he, Mr Amidu could hold the office of the Special Prosecutor as the President’s poodle. The question is, why will the President even assume that he could appoint someone to fight Corruption, and then turn around to control him, interfere with his work and keep him in his pocket?”

He added: “We are wondering why the President could instruct the Chief of Staff to order Mr Amidu not to do anything about his report on the Agyapa Royalties Transaction and also withhold any further action on the report for one week. What was the delay, the discussion and interference meant to achieve when as an independent prosecutor his corruption and anti-corruption assessment could not be reviewed by the Minister of Finance or the President?”

He continued: “What broke the camel’s back was the President’s attempt to convince the OSP to “shelve” the Agyapa Corruption Report and not to take any further action on the report. We all know that the next steps would have included further Investigations and prosecution of the identified suspects in accordance with section three (3) of the OSP Act.

This attempt by the President to interfere with Mr. Amidu’s report on Agyapa is a clear violation of Article 6(2) of the United Nations (UN) Convention against Corruption and the African Union (AU) Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption which states that “Each State Party shall grant the body or bodies referred to in paragraph 1 of this article the necessary independence, in accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal system, to enable the body or bodies to carry out its or their functions effectively and free from any undue influence. The necessary material resources and specialized staff, as well as the training that such staff may require to carry out their functions, should be provided.”

The Akufo-Addo Administration has a case to answer. How can this president who has been entrusted with the power to end corruption in all its forms, and benefited immeasurably from the anti-corruption campaign in 2016 against John Mahama, now become the active agent preventing the fight against corruption when his appointees are involved? We are disappointed that President Akufo-Addo has allowed his presidency to be undermined, influenced, and destroyed by family ties. From all indications the President is determined to appropriate our Gold Royalties and patrimony to his family & friends (as an Agyapade3) and therefore he has lost the moral compass to fight against corruption in government. We, therefore, call on the people of Ghana to prevent this state-capture by voting into office the Progressive People’s Party in the December elections”, he concluded.