Godfred Yeboah Dame
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice-designate, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has said there was nothing wrong with the official opinion of his former boss, Gloria Akuffo, on the Agyapa Royalties deal which the President put on hold last year.
He said even though he was not personally involved in the deal due to other commitments at the AG’s Department, “I have studied the opinion of the Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, and fully support that position.”
The government’s decision to consolidate all the country’s potential mineral income in one fund and largely managed by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) called Agyapa Royalties generated controversy, despite copious explanation by the Finance Ministry that Agyapa Minerals Limited was 100 per cent owned by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) Act, 2018 (Act 978), which was also 100 per cent owned by government, and that there were no ‘hidden beneficiaries’.
During the third day of the vetting of President Akufo-Addo’s nominees by the Appointments Committee of Parliament yesterday, Mr. Dame, who will become the youngest Attorney General in the country’s history when approved, said among other things that the corruption assessment report released by the then Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, regarding the Agyapa deal was nothing but “just his opinion” on the deal.
He said the President’s suggestion to Mr. Amidu on the matter was misconstrued, saying “Mr Amidu also misconstrued the President’s suggestion that persons mentioned in the report be given a fair hearing as interference leading to his resignation.”
He insisted that he did not see any vitiating factors regarding the Agyapa deal.
PPA
He also told the committee that no board member was involved in the allegations of conflict of interest in the ‘Contract for Sale’ scandal that rocked the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), leading to the firing of its Chief Executive, Adjenim Boateng Adjei, by the President after the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice found him liable.
Mr. Dame said the President’s termination of the appointment of the then PPA boss was in the interest of the country, and added that the President did not have any other option because it was the best step.
He said the President ought to be commended for the swift manner in which he dealt with the matter after the CHRAJ had released its report.
SALL Saga
He said it would be unfair for anyone to claim that he led an agenda to disenfranchise the residents of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) to vote in the just ended parliamentary elections.
He insisted that he believed the residents of SALL should have been allowed to vote in the Buem Constituency.
The nominee said he rather ensured the preservation of the rights to vote for the people of Hohoe after he led the case in court and said would be unfair to blame him.
He said when he is approved, he would ensure that the people of SALL were allowed to vote for a Member of Parliament; and also stressed that the residents had been placed under Buem in the Oti Region.
By Ernest Kofi Adu