Former President John Mahama
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu in the Volta region, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, says former President John Dramani Mahama will break his silence on the £5million Airbus Scandal which has taken international dimension.
Mr. Mahama has been fingered, with a British tabloid, The Sun, virtually nailing him as ‘Government official 1’ in the scandal.
Mr. Mahama is said to be linked to a ‘network of corrupt deals.’
Speaking on Onua TV recently, Ablakwa says Mahama had actually commented on the saga through the former Attorney General.
“You instruct your lawyer to talk for you,” according to him.
It would be recalled that on Friday, February 1, UK’s Royal Courts of Justice found Dutch firm Airbus SE guilty of paying bribes in shady deals in some countries including Ghana, South Korea, Mexico, Colombia and Malaysia.
For Ghana, the scandal involved government officials in 2011 and 2015 who negotiated for the deal with Airbus agents including Samuel Mahama believed to be a brother of former President John Mahama.
“Between 2009 and 2015 an Airbus defence company engaged Intermediary 5, a close relative of a high ranking elected Ghanaian Government official (Government Official 1) as its BP in respect of the proposed sale of three military transport aircraft to the Government of Ghana,” the ruling on Ghana’s deal read in part.
“A number of Airbus employees knew that Intermediary 5 was a close relative of Government Official 1, who was a key decision maker in respect of the proposed sales. A number of Airbus employees made or promised success-based commission payments of approximately €5 million to Intermediary 5.”
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo immediately referred the matter to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) with Martin Amidu, the Special Prosecutor launching a formal investigation into the scandal.
In February he announced he had summoned four people including British Actor Phil Middlemiss and Samuel Mahama and released their passport details online.
Dead Silence
The NDC flagbearer and former President John Mahama has refused to talk on the Airbus scandal since the story broke with The Sun linking him strongly to the bribery scandal.
During a recent visit by fishermen from the Western region to the NDC flagbearer private residence in Accra, Mr Mahama cleverly avoided the Airbus issue even when his guests had asked him for his position on it.
The fishermen had asked for clarification and his position on the scandal since it mentioned his administration.
They said they were confused about the Airbus saga and that the former president should clear the air, but he dodged the question and rather launched into a tirade against the government.
Its not Mahama’s first time of dodging corruption issues linking him directly.
Litany of cases abound including the Ford ‘bribe’, Bugri Naabu car bribery scandal and the Brazilian Embraer jets scandal which was a subject of investigation.
When the Ford Expedition dashed to him by a Burkinabe road contractor allegedly in exchange for contracts, the former President maintained silence on the case up till today.
When he allegedly bribed then NPP Northern regional chairman, Daniel Bugri Naabu with cash and Mitsubishi Pajero in the heat of the 2016 electioneering campaign he ignored the raging issue pretending as nothing has happened.
In the Embraer case, when Martin Amidu dropped the hint that former President Atta Mills ordered investigation into the case because his then Vice President John Mahama had corrupted himself stopping the transaction, Mahama never opened his mouth on the case.
There are several other corruption cases Mahama featured prominently but failed to answer them typical of him.