Airbus scandal: Amidu has power to invite anyone but not Mahama - Edudzi Tamakloe

Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has been reminded by the Aide to Ex-President John Dramani Mahama, Lawyer Godwin Tamakloe that his outfit - Office of the Special Prosecutor - though clothed with the powers of the state, cannot extend its invitation to the former president questioning in the wake of the Airbus scandal.

A public notice by the OSP said the individuals identified by the acronym in the Statement of Facts and accepted as findings of fact in a judgement of the UK Crown Court are to assist in the investigation of corruption and corruption-related offences in the purchase of the Aircraft.

The OSP notice read: "SAMUEL ADAM FOSTER a. k. a. SAMUEL ADAM MAHAMA a UK/Ghanaian citizen, and the three other UK nationals: PHILIP SEAN MIDDLEMISS, LEANNE SARAH DAVIS and SARAH FURNEAUX are hereby invited to assist the Office of the Special Prosecutor in the on-going investigation of bribery and corruption involving in excess of 3,596,523.00 Euros and 1,665,000.00 Euros respectively, and collaborating with Ghanaian public Officers to use their public office for private profit or benefit in the purchase of three (3) C-295 aircraft by the Government of Ghana from Airbus SE".

Commenting on the issue on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe noted that the Airbus transaction for the three aircrafts never took place without the approval of the Parliament; thus everything was legit.

“Thankfully in those days, Parliament gave its approval; what and what did Parliament do before giving approval for the transaction?...Martin Amidu, he has his powers, he can invite anybody that he wants to and that is his own business. What is important for me is that as we speak he has not invited John Dramani Mahama and that is what is important to me because there is nothing to invite him about...

“If there was anything at all, John Dramani Mahama relied on the legal opinion professed by the office which was headed by Martin Amidu in the course of this transaction. There is nothing to expose in the investigation he has started”, he averred.

He said that the information at Martin Amidu’s disposal right now was obtained more than two weeks ago from the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence on the Airbus transaction; thus, the documents are official which did not require any effort to obtain.

“He went to the Ghana Armed Forces to retrieve these documents more than two weeks ago and so there is nothing strange about it. When the Airbus scandal started, the NPP in their propaganda mode of operation brought in the Embryo case but it didn’t fly and so in the midst of COVID-19, they have introduced this case of Airbus scandal again”, he said.

He, however, assured that that former President John Dramani Mahama and the Ministers who were directly involved in the Airbus transaction never took a dime from the Airbus Company. He reiterated that nothing will come out of Martin Amidu’s investigation.

“I can assure you two million percent that neither John Dramani Mahama or his Minister of Defence or Minister of Interior or whatever government officials that were involved in the transaction, Airbus Company never gave them Ghc1 and not even Ghc2 and Martin Amidu can do any kind of investigation, nothing will come out of it...

“Martin Amidu himself knows that he cannot invite John Dramani Mahama because the Minister of Defence, General Smith is there, he is alive; the Interior Minister is also alive including the Deputy Finance Minister, Seth Terkper...and they will speak to the issue. This is much ado about nothing”.

He shaded the Special Prosecutor for being ineffective and having nothing to show for the three years since the OSP became operational.

“Martin Amidu is an elderly man and so I want to choose my words carefully. You have been given 180 million to work with for three years and after receiving this money and you are being asked to render account of your work and by law, he is supposed to give periodic account of the number of cases he has prosecuted but he has been able to produce only two cases for the three years in office”, he chided.