Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has criticized President Nana Akufo-Addo for absolving Akonta Mine of any wrongdoing while the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is still looking into the case.
Mr. Mahama described the president’s actions as unacceptable, noting that his penchant for absolving family and close associates of wrongdoing put pressure on state anti-corruption institutions.
President Akufo-Addo, while speaking at the 28th National and 16th Biennial Congress of the National Union of Ghana Catholic Diocesan Priests Association in Koforidua, said Akonta Mining firm is not engaged in any form of illegal mining anywhere in Ghana as of the time he was addressing the gathering.
Some Ghanaians have criticized the president, asserting that his comments may tamper with the ongoing investigations as it is owned by the NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
According to John Mahama, the 2020 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, “that penchant by the president to absolve his appointees and other close associates of any wrongdoing as he has done with the ongoing investigations into the operations of Akonta Mining Company is a serious dent on the already deteriorating image of the Office of the President.
“As though proud of that dishonourable badge, ‘the clearing agent’, Nana Akufo-Addo has yet again justified the appropriateness of his nickname with the seeming presidential exoneration of Akonta Mining, a company owned by a member of his political party (NPP) and accused of illegal gold mining in the country’s forest reserves.”
In his view, the President’s comment cannot be allowed to override or become a substitute for the statutory mandate granted the investigative bodies of Ghana by the Constitution as such acts fly in the face of justice and the fight against corruption.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, January 10, John Mahama advised that all citizens must support the anti-corruption institutions to carry out their duties fairly and courageously without undue interference by any influences.