President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been urged by the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to start processes to find a successor to the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, to continue the fight against corruption.
Mr. Amidu resigned as Special Prosecutor last Monday, citing interference from the presidency and some government officials following his investigations into the notorious Agyapa contract.
I do not usually announce my resignation to the public myself but the traumatic experience I endured from 20 October 2020 to 2 November 2020 when I transmitted the findings and observations on the risk of corruption analysis and anti-corruption evaluation on the Agyapa Royalties Restricted Transactions and Other Matters Report in a thirteen-page letter
Nevertheless, in a statement signed by the party’s Communications Chief, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, the NPP, describing the resignation of Amidu as surprising, urged President Akufo-Addo to find a replacement for the Citizen Vigilante quickly.
“It is assured by the NPP that H.E. The President, in the Fourth Republic, provided the largest room for civil society involvement in governance.
He allowed the media to modernize and thrive as the architect of the abolition of the Criminal Libel under former President Kufuor, creating not only a culture of a vigorous investigation into public affairs but also numerous jobs and opportunities for growth and self-actualization, urged by H.E. The President should recognize the resignation of the Special Prosecutor and start processes to find a replacement in order to begin the delicate and important task of understanding the real reach of the OSP’s powers in order to ensure the progress of the battle against corruption, the party said.
The NPP said it received the news of the resignation of the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, with shock and dismay, “because Mr. Amidu chose to walk away from the golden opportunity to create a brand new efficient organization, having had the best part of three years to demonstrate and cement his undoubted anti-corruption credentials.” As the evidence clearly shows, the Presidency and the Ministry of Finance have done all to make the OSP operational, successful, and autonomous. The decision to name Martin Amidu himself is a strong sign that the President did not intend to be headed by a lackey at the office.
According to the NPP, Mr. Amidu did not resign because the presidency or any member of the government interfered with any investigation of his own.
Since 2018, all the space and resources he needed by law and mandate and all the money he called for have been provided to set up an entirely new institution, which has its own problems and to run the Office independently and effectively.
No occupant of a political position has interfered with the office’s administration. Indeed, both the incumbent and immediate past governments seem to be influenced by his conduct, indicating the wisdom of the mandate and powers of the office he held. The freedom of thinking and action depended on the workplace, it said.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo meanwhile has ordered that all wages owed to Mr. Amidu since taking office should be paid in compliance with the law.
This was confirmed in a statement from the President’s Office acknowledging the resignation of Mr. Amidu from office.
“The Order of the President to the Chief of Staff, Mrs. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, observed that The President ordered me to ensure that you are compensated properly for all emoluments and privileges due to you under the law.
In his resignation announcement, Martin Amidu announced that no effort had been made by the Government to ensure that he had been compensated for his two years of service.
