President-elect Nana Akufo-Addo and Martin Amidu
A member of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kpakpo Samoah, has recommended to the President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to appoint Martin A. B. K. Amidu, as his Independent Prosecutor.
He believes the appointment of the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice will help curb corruption in government, stressing that Mr. Amidu’s presence alone, will put fear in government appointees who have any intension of amassing public funds.
“For me, if for nothing at all, he [Nana Akufo-Addo] should appoint Martin Amidu as his Independent Prosecutor. This will scare off his own party people because you will have somebody who doesn’t care and also does not need anybody’s favour acting as your corruption watchdog. Once he hits the ground running, the people will know that you [the President] are not the one prosecuting but rather the law that has been given to the prosecutor to prosecute”, he noted.
During the electioneering campaign, then presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo, pledged to take practical steps to root out corruption in government.
One of such steps, he noted, will be the creation of an office for a Special Prosecutor who will be independent of the Executive control in order to prosecute corrupt government officials.
He then sent a strong warning to party faithful that if anybody is supporting his bid to the president because of money, then person should reconsider his or her decision because there would be no room for corruption in his administration.
Akufo-Addo’s pronouncement, in the view of Lawyer Samoah, is a good one and prayed that the President-elect backs his words with action.
Interacting with Fiifi Banson on Anopa Kasapa on Kasapa 102.5 FM, Thursday, the NDC activist expressed the belief that Mr. Martin Amidu’s zeal to fighting corruption as he has demonstrated in the case against Alfred Agbesi Woyome, makes him the best candidate for the position of Independent Prosecutor.
“You need somebody like Martin Amidu to put the fear in the people that you, the President, will be working with. If appointees have no fear that there will be repercussions for misconduct, everything becomes business as usual. Once this happens, you, the President will be unable to speak up against corruption. It then makes it look as if, you, the President, is complicit in corruption and it makes you lose the moral argument. Once you lose the moral argument that will be the start of your problems,” he averred.
