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PRESS RELEASE BY THE NEW PATRIOTIC PARTY ON THE RESIGNATION OF MARTIN AMIDU AS THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has received with shock and dismay, the news of the resignation of the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu.
Shock because Mr. Amidu chose to walk away from the golden opportunity of establishing a brand new effective agency, having had the best part of three years to demonstrate and cement his undoubted anti-corruption credentials in doing so. The Presidency and the Ministry of Finance, the evidence indicates clearly, has done everything to make the OSP operational, effective and independent. The decision to appoint Martin Amidu himself is a clear indication that the President did not intend for the Office to be headed by a lackey.
We remember those who lacked the courage to implement their own manifesto pledge. The National Democratic Congress gave a manifesto promise to separate the Attorney General Department from the Ministry of Justice to give the AG the independence to prosecute corruption cases without fear or favour. But, when they were given the power to act they lacked the courage to do so. That has not been the case with Nana Akufo-Addo and the NPP.
We remember in 2012 when Martin Amidu, who described the NDC of undertaking “gargantuan corruption”, was sacked by President John Evans Atta Mills. The Chief of Staff justified it with a statement that Martin Amidu “misconducted himself” as Attorney General in a meeting with President Mills. But, Martin disagreed and accused President Mills of “interfering” with the AG’s “prosecutorial powers under the Constitution in relation to three dockets…” Thankfully, that era is behind us.
Ghanaians admired Martin Amidu’s subsequent role as “Citizen Vigilante” and it was because of this fierce sense of independence and experience as a prosecutor that apparently persuaded President Akufo-Addo to nominate Martin Amidu, a long-standing leading member of the NDC to be the first Special Prosecutor. Even then, the NDC fought against the appointment at the Supreme Court but without success.
Mr Amidu has not resigned because any investigation of his has been interfered with by the Presidency or any member of government. Since 2018, he has been offered all the room and support he needed by law and mandate and every money he has requested to set up an entirely new institution, which comes with its own challenges, and to operate the Office independently and efficiently. No political office holder has interfered in the administration of that Office.
Indeed, that his actions appear to impact both the incumbent and immediate past governments vindicates the wisdom of the mandate and powers of the Office which he occupied. An Office hinged on independence of thought and action.
Independence cannot be infallible. Independence does not mean the actions of the Office cannot be commented upon by the people as has happened with Mr Amidu’s report on Agyapa.
Also, for the OSP to work well, the principles of natural justice must be respected at all times. Mr. Amidu’s letter of resignation, it would appear that he chose to resign because H.E the President sought to apply “Audi Alteram Partem” rules to enable the Hon. Finance Minister state his case after an anti-corruption risk and corruption risk assessment report was done on Agyapa and the Minister’s role in it assessed and conclusions reached without giving the Minister the prior opportunity to explain matters beyond the documents assessed.
In short, the very independence and authority of the Office demand that its conclusions hold up to scrutiny. In this regard, much as the Office has the power and right to issue the Report, the recipient President also had a duty to engage the Hon. Minister of Finance, who in his Memo requested by the President in response, clearly engages very transparently on the issues raised in the report.
We are at a loss as to how this can be stretched to mean interference. There is nothing said or done that stopped the Special Prosecutor from going ahead to undertake a full and proper investigation of Agyapa beyond the assessment done. All he had to do was continue his mandate to undertake an investigation and continue with prosecution if a prima facie case could be established. Otherwise, Mr Amidu’s apparently noble gesture of resignation, may, sadly, smack of political grandstanding.
The NPP believes the President has been forthright, sincere and honest in his conviction to fight against corruption. The approach of the OSP by way of an advisory assessment is novel, and therefore all the more significant that the President was very responsive to the letter sent to him by the SP.
For the NPP led Government, the vindication of the President’s believe in the need for an independent office with sufficient power to act in the public realm, irrespective of status, implies major progress in fighting corruption. Not only is the OSP independent of all political influence, it is also capable of initiating its own actions. As the Special Prosecutor himself says in the report;
“This is the first time an independent anti-corruption agency established by any Government in Ghana has undertaken an analysis of the risk of corruption and anti-corruption risk assessment of the processes leading up to the approval by Parliament of Public Agreements as part of its statutory mandate. This has been made possible by the courage and commitment of H.E. the President of Ghana in redeeming the promise he made to Ghanaians when he was a Presidential candidate of a political party to establish an independent anti-corruption statutory entity to make meaningful any real commitment to prevent and to fight corruption. The Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) established this Office. The President ensured that in the teeth of strong opposition the Special Prosecutor was able to have his way to have included in the Office of the Special Prosecutor (Operations) Regulations, 2018 (L.I. 2374) the prevention of corruption regulations which to the best of my knowledge may be the first in Africa and meets international standards and best practices.”
Where then is the accusation of “poodle” affirmed? Our society, especially the political strata, needs to move away from merely shouting about who is the most corrupt and actually begin to fight corruption on a sustainable basis. League tabling corruption does not work. But the recitation and shouting loudest does not solve the political corruption problem of impunity that leads to blatant procurement and resource management issues.
The NPP insists that we have a better claim to good governance. We hold CSOs as our natural ally in delivering good governance and therefore must lay out the situation is it presumably is. Stated bluntly, the current NDC leadership record on anti-corruption is probably the worst ever. Their record on institutional strengthening is abysmal, as evidenced by the Audit Service Activity Report of 2014 lamenting the lack of financial and logistical support since 2012, thereby hampering their work. Their record on anti-corruption legislation is weak, the PFM having been passed under pressure, with massive abuses of sole sourcing under the legal procurement regime put in by the Kufuor administration. The highlight of NDC perfidy is the interoperability process where NDC was giving Ghana a bill of $1.2 billion. The NPP did it for $4.2 million.
Before the OSP now is a clear criminal investigation on a judgement from a UK court which alleges that a brother of Government Official One served as an intermediary for a €5m bribe paid to Government Official One for a transaction to acquire airplanes for the Air Force.
The NDC’s record on current strategy is non-existent, with their manifesto talking about ‘operation sting’ without any legs. The man they expect to lead this ‘sting’ is, according to Martin Amidu, the same Government Official One. There is no detail about the potential legal and institutional structure of operation sting, how it will differ from what we have, the gaps it’s supposed to fill and the ‘men from Mars’ who would drive it. In fact, they have no idea what their own operation sting is about.
Contrast that with the NPP’s record. Cumulatively, from the era of President Kufuor, we have major transparency enhancing legislation, or sunshine legislation and case law being developed. Internal Audit, Procurement, OSP, RTI and the reformed Companies Act to mention but a few. Kufuor rightly diagnosed public procurement as a problem, whilst Nana Addo determined to assault impunity once and for all. Between clean procurement and reduced impunity, Ghana’s fight against corruption would be over.
Beyond the OSP, with the setup of the Right to Information Commission, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has set the stage for a deeper, reflective and sustainable culture of transparency and accountability. The NPP is assured that H.E the President has created the largest space for civil society participation in governance in the Fourth Republic. As architect of the repeal of criminal libel under President Kufuor, he enabled the media to modernise and blossom, creating not only a culture of aggressive inquiry into public affairs but also numerous jobs and opportunities for growth and self-actualisation.
The NPP urges H.E the President to accept the resignation of the Special Prosecutor and initiate processes to find a successor to continue the sensitive and important job of realising the true ambit of the powers of the OSP in order to ensure the success of the fight against corruption.
…Signed…
Yaw Buaben Asamoa
(Communications Director)
Madam Sandra Seyram Kpedor, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Anloga in the Volta Region, has emphasised the importance of parental involvement in children’s education, stating that education is free, but parents need to do more to support their children.
She said parents, teachers, and students must be involved in addressing the challenges facing the district’s education sector, particularly the poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.
Madam Kpedor outlined some key roles parents should play to promote their children’s education, including providing a conducive learning environment, monitoring their children’s progress, and supporting teachers.
The DCE highlighted some challenges the district faced such as inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of teachers, which have also contributed to the poor BECE results and called on well-to-do parent to help solve the situation through and other supports.
To address the issues, she also announced that plans have been taken to utilise the district’s common fund to implement educational projects, such as constructing school blocks and teachers’ bungalows at Sodzi community, and 2-unit classroom blocks each at Akplorwutorkor and Tegbi-Afedome respectively, among others.
Madam Kpedor also noted that her office had earlier notified the Ministry of Education to deploy more teachers to the area to improve teaching and learning, and encouraged students to work hard and strive for excellence, and work beyond their limit to succeed.
“To my wonderful and beautiful girls, you have to know it clear that women and girls have equal opportunities to compete with men for greater achievements,” she indicated.
The DCE cited her own achievement as a testament to the fact that women can excel in leadership positions, alongside Vice President Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and stressed that girls were no longer limited to domestic roles but can pursue their dreams and become leaders.
Additionally, she mentioned that a meeting was held earlier with assembly members, and other stakeholders to address the district’s educational challenges and improve academic performance.
She promised that the district’s education oversight committee and stakeholders would work together to address the challenges and improve the district’s BECE results and called for parental involvement and support to boost the district’s education sector for children to chase their dreams to become future leaders for the success of the district and the nation.
She urged parents not to leave everything to the government but rather help in the provision of some necessary materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, food, and guidance to children for the successes of young learners. –GNA
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The spokesperson for Dr. Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has criticised the implementation of the NDC government’s No Fee Stress policy, arguing that the programme has failed to deliver on its core promise.
According to him on Starr fm, the policy, which was introduced to ensure stress free payment of fees for level 100 tertiary students, has rather turned into what he described as post stress support.
He explained that students are required to pay their fees first before applying for reimbursement, a situation he believes defeats the purpose of the policy.
He questioned claims by government officials that the policy has been successful and that citizens are happy.
In his view, such claims do not reflect the lived realities of many Ghanaians. He stressed that while some people may appear satisfied, many others continue to struggle.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye pointed to the situation of trained teachers and nurses who have been picketing for nearly six months, demanding employment.
He noted that government responses suggesting it cannot accommodate all of them contradict claims of economic stability.
He further argued that economic indicators such as a stable currency mean little to people who are unable to secure jobs or access promised support.
He observed that telling an unemployed teacher or a struggling student that the cedi has strengthened does not address their immediate challenges.
On the issue of tertiary education, he maintained that no level 100 student benefited from stress free fees in 2025, despite the policy being announced.
He added that in 2026, students have already reported to school without receiving the promised support.
He insisted that asking students to pay fees first and seek reimbursement later amounts to support after hardship, not stress free education.
According to him, this approach goes against what was promised during the policy announcement.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye questioned why a government that presents the economy as strong is unable to fulfil what he described as simple and clear promises.
He added that there is a fundamental problem with the way the economy is being managed and indicated that he is prepared to explain his position further.
By: Jacob Aggrey
