President Akufo-Addo has refuted claims by former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, that his decision to resign was as a result of government’s interference with his work.
According to the Presidency, the allegations by Mr. Amidu that there was “interference” following his submission of the Agyapa Royalties report to the President, are surprising since the former had stated in an earlier letter that he had remained in office due to the President’s shared commitment to the fight against corruption.
In a 9 paged letter addressed to Mr. Martin Amidu and sighted by JoyNews, Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante explained that the interest expressed by the President after the release of the Agyapa Royalties report was only an attempt to apply the principles of natural justice by allowing the Finance Minister to have a say.
“In accordance with the constitutional standard of fairness, reasonableness, and candour, the president requested you to give the public officials in question an opportunity to comment on your findings and conclusions.
“Fidelity to the principles of fairness is a basic tenet of administrative justice. A request to comply with the rules of natural justice and fair hearing surely cannot be cited as the basis for alleging interference consequent upon which you would resign,” part of the statement read.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has dismissed claims by Martin Amidu that he asked him to shelve his report in the Agyapa Royalties deal while he served as Special Prosecutor.
In a statement, the Presidency said “At no point did the President ask you to shelve the report, so he could “handle the matter”. It is difficult to see in what way and in what context the President would seek to “handle the matter” when the matter was already public knowledge and had led to the Ministry of Finance suspending action on the Agyapa transaction in anticipation of your report”.
On the accusation of interference, the president said:“It is extremely important to emphasize that the subject of your discussion with the President on 1 November 2020, was the delivery to you of comments on your report by the Ministry of Finance. At no point did the President ask you to shelve the report so he could “handle the matter”. It is difficult to see in what way and in what context the President would seek to “handle the matter” when the matter was already public knowledge and had led to the Ministry of Finance suspending action on the Agyapa transaction in anticipation of your report. You are clearly aware that the President had accepted the observations you had made in the Agyapa Report and had acted on it by issuing directives to officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Attorney-General’s Department. This cannot be the conduct of a person seeking to hamstring your efforts or to avoid the contents of the Report”.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com
