President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana has denied allegations of interference made by former anti-corruption chief Martin Amidu, describing the accusations as “errors of fact”.
The president, in a nine-page statement on Tuesday, said that neither he nor any member of his government interfered with Mr Amidu’s work and adequate resources were made available to enable him to do his work efficiently and effectively.
He addressed some critical claims Martin Amidu made such as interference in the work of Martin Amidu, the Agyapa mineral royalties deal, and the claims that the Government of Ghana has failed to provide the needed resources for the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
“I refer to your letter dated 16 November, 2020 pursuant to which you resigned your position as the first Special Prosecutor appointed in accordance with Section 13(3) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) (hereinafter, the “Letter”).
“The President has taken note of your resignation per the President’s Chief of Staff’s letter to you of even date herewith (SCR/DA/96/135/01/A).
“We note, however, that, even before the President had been given the opportunity to react to the contents of your four (4) page Letter, it had been put into the public domain prior to receipt by the President. I am directed by the President to respond to correct the errors of fact contained in your Letter in order to provide a complete public record of the issues,” parts of the letter signed by Nana Bediatuo Asante, Secretary to the President, reads.
Mr Amidu resigned as Ghana’s anti-corruption chief on Monday, citing among other things interference by President Akufo-Addo.
Mr Amidu’s appointment two years ago was greeted with high expectations as he was seen by many in Ghana as the right man to fight corruption among public officials.
His resignation comes less than three weeks before the general election, in a country where promises to deal with corruption feature prominently during electioneering campaigns.
