Martin Amidu
Former Attorney General Martin A.B.K. Amidu has said President John Mahama and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) government are too corrupt to be retained in office.
According to the anti-corruption crusader, the time has come for Ghanaians to vote massively for a new government of integrity.
He cited a litany of corruption scandals involving President Mahama, saying “we are told this President is incorruptible, tell it to the marines.”
He said the only way for Ghanaians to retrieve GH¢51.2 million of state money illegally paid to NDC financier Alfred Agbesi Woyome is to vote massively against the NDC, who have been conniving with Woyome to keep the money.
Public Purse
“The representative democratic process provided for in our Constitution gives citizens the power to change corrupt governments and public purse looters like this President’s Government once every four years at the presidential elections,” Mr. Amidu said in his latest news release.
“Vote this President out on 7th December 2016 so that we do not need any further examination orally on oath of Woyome by me in person for you to get your money back. The new government will have the duty of getting your money back in the shortest possible time because of the confidence you would have reposed in it.”
“Do we wait another four years while a John Mahama Government drags its feet and shields the very lootees it has helped?” he quizzed.
Deceitful Gov’t
Mr. Amidu said, “If you vote the incumbent President back into power after 7th December 2016, I can assure you that no examination on oath by me will ever get your money back again,” adding “you will be re-electing a government that has been deceiving you about its intention to retrieve even a pesewa.”
“This is why if we want our money back plus every interest on it we must vote for a new President on 7th December 2016. Up until now, I have preferred to concentrate on the loot of GH¢51.2 million by the Government for Woyome with Austro-Invest, the incumbent Attorney General’s former client, and the Waterville case with over €47million unconstitutional loot by this Government again for Waterville.”
State Machinery
He said that anytime the issue of corruption had been leveled against the President and his assigns, the government machinery had come out strongly to defend the President, saying “the lies about the incorruptibility of this President do not hold up to scrutiny against the available evidence.”
“Let us look at examples of how the incumbent President has plundered the public purse. Do you remember SADA where the President’s own kinsmen and others who raped the public purse have never been dealt with? Why? Because the President could not see to its prosecution since the President is himself tainted by it.”
He recounted other projects such as the forestation of northern Ghana and the guinea fowls being reared for Upper East Region; projects that never existed.
Free Port Deal
The former AG also mentioned the Atuabo Free Port Agreement, saying “you cannot fail to see the corruption embodied in it with Government institutions like SSNIT, GHAPOHA and others being forced to contribute to the free carried interest which the foreign beneficiary was to pay to the Government of Ghana.”
He said even when President Mahama tried to act on corruption issues, he was selective in his approach, saying “this President pretends to prosecute only those he dislikes like Abuga Pele, the MP for Paga, and a few others,” adding “but he only uses the pretended prosecutions to whip his wayward Party members into line.”
$13 million
Mr. Amidu said as a condition for the President John Evans Atta Mills to sign what he called a controversial executive consent to permit the E.O. Group to assign its $300million shares to Tullow, the E.O. Group agreed to pay $13 million to the government for the development of the Western Region, and they called it corporate social responsibility and it was then Vice President Mahama who had ‘orchestrated’ the unlawful deal and said he (Amidu) refused to endorse the deal as Attorney General.
“It was Mahama who ensured that the $13 million was paid not to the Government of Ghana for the benefit of the people, but into private pockets, which the late President Mills was shocked to hear shortly before his death,” he said.
By William Yaw Owusu