Martin Amidu
Ghana’s de facto whistleblower, Martin Alamisi B.K. Amidu and former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, has described as “hollow,” President John Mahama’s call for evidence of corruption against him to be taken to appropriate agencies to deal with the issue, reminding the president that Ghanaians are not fools.
“Which Ghanaian in his right senses will report a sitting President for such an investigation in the hope of getting impartial results?” Martin Amidu’s asked, saying the President “talked down” to Ghanaians.
Mr. Amidu, who is also popularly referred to as the ‘Citizen Vigilante’, was an Attorney General in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) until he was unceremoniously dropped over the Woyome GH¢51.2million fraud. He is convinced that President Mahama was only blowing hot air about his commitment to fighting corruption.
Mr. Amidu fell out with the government early this year after he claimed he could not stand the official complicity in corrupt acts in government.
Since then, he has issued several exposés.
His latest statement, titled ‘Reporting a Sitting President or Government to Any Public Institution to be investigated for Corruption’, is the ninth in a row released by the former Attorney General since April.
At the NDC’s manifesto launch in Ho last Thursday, President Mahama, who was apparently irked by allegations of his direct link to the GH¢57million unsecured loan sourced from the state-owned Merchant Bank, by his brother Ibrahim Mahama, stated, “I am prepared as the President of this country to appear before anybody, any institution to be investigated for corruption.”
Mr. Amidu said the statement amounted to President Mahama taking Ghanaians, particularly the middle class, for granted. “Is the Ghanaian middle class being told that in spite of our education and experience, we should believe that any impartial investigation by any of the public anti-corruption agencies as presently constituted can take place about his personal incorruptibility or that of the Government he leads? Or does he think a middle class worth the name of an educated middle class will accept the hollow challenge thrown at Ho without reasoning?
“Speaking for myself, I am a citizen who cherishes my right as a citizen and cannot allow this hollow challenge thrown by the transitional President to pass without exercising my birthright as a citizen to tell him not to talk down to Ghanaians as though we were all fools,” Martin Amidu challenged.
According to the former Attorney General, the only way President Mahama could effect his call for executive scrutiny was by setting up a bi-partisan committee of Parliament to take evidence from Ghanaians on the matter of corruption in his government.
He said in the release that anything short of a bipartisan parliamentary anti corruption committee would be a mere window dressing.
He could draw these conclusions because, according to him, when he was the Minister of the Interior and later Attorney-General, he continually took up the matter of corruption in government with the late President Mills and the Chief of Staff, John Henry Martey Newman; yet nothing was ever done to stem the graft.
“Indeed, it was in 2010 that I told the late President and the Chief of Staff that if the late President could advise his appointees to reduce corruption, abuse of office and arrogance for the remaining two years, the NDC would win the 2012 elections hands down.
“I kept going back to this topic with the late President and the Chief of Staff until 13th January 2012 when I fell out with the late President on the Woyome and other gargantuan issues of corruption, abuse of office and the flagrant rape of the public purse by Ministers and their NDC collaborators in this government,” he complained.
Embraer Planes
Martin Amidu said President Mahama, just like his predecessor, late President Mills, was presiding over a systemic breakdown of government that allowed unbridled acts of corruption by government officials.
He said President Mahama presided over certain official procurements that allegedly stank of serious underhand dealings.
In 2011, President Mahama was reported to have directly presided over the purchase of five Embraer aircraft for the military for approximately $55.3 million each, even though the top range of that model cost between $32 million and $40 million.
At the time, minority Members of Parliament kicked against the price quotation, complaining about price inflation. Communication Director of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akomea complained that he did not understand why government was buying the Embraer 190 aircraft at $55,264,000 when various checks indicated that the price of an Embraer 190 aircraft was between $32million and $40million.
According to Mr. Amidu, the late President Mills initially attempted to defend the purchase of the five aircraft; however, intense pressure forced him to set up a committee to investigate the matter.
The investigation, he said, never took place.
Also, Mr. Amidu revealed that On 26th July, 2011, he, the then Vice President Mahama, Henry Martey Newman, the Secretary to the Cabinet James Bebako-Mensah, the Communications Director to the President, Koku Anyidoho, the Deputy Minister for Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, met to discuss the offloading of $300million shares of minority partner at the Jubilee oil fields, EO Group.
According to Mr. Amidu, the officials met the late President Mills in his office where he raised objections to the issuance of an executive consent to offload the EO Group shares of over $300 million to Tullow, while a criminal prosecution was pending against the group.
However, he said officials in the meeting sneaked in a memorandum to the late President, creating the impression that he had agreed to the issuance of an Executive Consent to enable the Minister of Energy to transfer the shares.
However, he said officials in the meeting sneaked in a memorandum to the late President, creating the impression that he had agreed to the issuance of an Executive Consent to enable the Minister of Energy to transfer the shares.
The implication of the memorandum was that they created the impression that he agreed for the trial of the EO Group to be waived for the $300million worth of EO Group’s shares, to be transferred.
“I still am at a loss to know what the consideration for helping the EO Group out of the criminal prosecution is. Only an impartial investigation will show!
“As a result of the meeting with the late President, I wrote him letter No. XE337/09/8 dated 27th July, 2011 in which I indicated that I was not going to cover up the unconstitutional conduct of deceiving the President to grant an executive consent with a sham prosecution,” he said.
“As a result of the meeting with the late President, I wrote him letter No. XE337/09/8 dated 27th July, 2011 in which I indicated that I was not going to cover up the unconstitutional conduct of deceiving the President to grant an executive consent with a sham prosecution,” he said.
Mr. Amidu said he was extremely surprised that despite his strong opposition to the EO Group, the group of officials “deceived” the late President to grant an executive consent.
“Corruption or the perception of corruption in this government is endemic and systemic and was not personal to my late friend, Professor Atta Mills. The people infecting this government with the endemic corruption and abuse of office for private gains are alive and in President Mahama’s government,” he stated.
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