Corruption: I thought I knew Akufo-Addo until he became President – Bagbin

Long-serving Member of Parliament and Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin says he is shocked at the conduct of President Akufo-Addo in government.

The Nadowli Kaleo legislator, who served alongside the President in parliament when he was MP for Akim Abuakwa South, said he thought he knew the President until he assumed power in his current capacity.

Alban Bagbin was speaking in an interview with host of the Gold Power Drive, Samuel Eshun.

Alban Bagbin is surprised President Akufo-Addo was supervising a government acting in ways contrary to what he promised Ghanaians.

He accused the President of reducing his office to a ‘clearing house’ of corrupt practices.

“I worked with the President closely when he came to Parliament in 1997; in fact I was the Chairman of the Legal and Constitutional Committee in parliament, he was my ranking member so we really worked together.”

“That is why sometimes I say I am shocked because it looks like I knew the President until he became President; to now constitute his office as the clearinghouse for allegations that are made against his appointees is really surprising to me,” he said.

He added: “The impression I got of him before he became President was that we should allow the institutions of governance to investigate those matters and to come out with the report and not his office but that is what we are having now. Setting up committees and clearing themselves and continuing,” he opined.

Over the last one and a half years, President Akufo-Addo has absolved his two Deputy Chief of Staff, a Deputy Minister of Sports (Australia visa fraud), the Trade Ministry (cash for seat saga), the Energy Minister (bribery scandal), and former BOST CEO (contaminated fuel saga) among others of allegations of corruption.