The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu in the Central Region, Alex Afenyo-Markin has slammed the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for going beyond its mandate and engaging in witch-hunting just to embarrass innocent citizens.
The NPP MP disclosed this while contributing to a debate during the second reading of the new Narcotics Control Commission Bill in Parliament yesterday and later in a media interaction.
He said EOCO has become lawless, deviating from its core mandate and pursuing innocent Ghanaians who have not fallen foul of the law.
The MP said a typical example of EOCO’s waywardness is the invitation extended to the presidential candidates of the Progressive People’s Party, Papa Kwesi Nduom and All People’s Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga for them to be investigated for declaring that they have spent certain amounts of money on their respective parties.
Paa Kwesi Nduom is alleged have spent GH¢1.7 million on the filing of his party’s parliamentary candidates while Hassan Ayariga is alleged to have said on air that he has spent as much as $6 million on the running of his party.
Hon Afenyo-Marking told a section of the parliamentary press that the invitations extended to the two presidential candidates are not grounded in law, arguing strongly that Act 804 does not give EOCO the power to arbitrary invite people to be investigated.
Everything that EOCO does must be guided by law and people who run state institutions and are being paid by the taxpayer must not be allowed to run the institutions like their personal property and take the law into their own hands, if he were Paa Kwesi Nduom or Hassan Ayariga, I would have written back to EOCO to ask them under what law they were inviting me and for what purpose, he indicated.
EOCO probe a ‘joke’
It is a “joke” on the part of EOCO to have instituted investigations into the source of funding of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Ghana stated.
According to him, the flag bearer of the PPP, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom is the only presidential hopeful who has declared his assets and publicly declared his health status.
EOCO on Monday October 24 started investigations into the sources of funding of the PPP and APC.
The EOCO wants Mr Hassan Ayariga of the APC and Dr Nduom to confirm in writing the sources of their funding.
They have up to Wednesday, October 26, 2016 to respond to the request.
The EOCO letter was dated October 21, 2016 and signed by its Executive Director, Mr Justice A. Tsar.
In a Facebook post on Monday, October 24, Mr Cudjoe said: “So where is this odious invitation from the Economic and Organised Crimes Office to the PPP and APC coming from? To declare where their funds for campaigning are coming from? The last time I checked, the PPP’s flag bearer is the only competent business man with a trail of transparent businesses in this race to the presidency! And I also know the PPP candidate is the only one who has declared his assets and even publicly told us his health status.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr