In spite of his persistent pledge to fight corruption when given the nod ahead of last year’s election, President Akufo-Addo says addressing challenges facing the country’s economy remains his focus.
According to the president, he will rather pay more attention fixing the economy instead of being in a hurry to prosecute past officials of the John Mahama administration.
Mr Akufo-Addo, The aL-hAJJ has gathered, has been telling close associates that, he “does not want to repeat the mistakes of Nigerian President, Buhari”, who focused his attention on assumption of office; arresting members of the ousted Jonathan administration suspected of bing corrupt much to the neglect of the economy which has resulted in Nigeria’s current dire economic situation.
In the heat of the 2016 elections, Mr. Akufo Addo promised to set up the office of Special Prosecutor to investigate and punish officials found to be corrupt.
President Akufo Addo, only recently, disclosed that, the bill to establish his proposed “Office of Special Prosecutor” would be laid in parliament when the lawmaking house resumes.
While the Ghanaian President continues to reaffirm his commitment to fighting the canker, there are serious doubts he will actually be able to carry through his pledge.
This follows revelations by one of the President’s confidants that, Mr Akufo-Addo has decided to focus attention on rebuilding the economy instead of going after past government officials in other to avoid plunging the country into economic mess as happened in Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria.
This shocking revelation was inadvertently made by no less a person than his self-acclaimed financier and New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong on Adom Tv’s Badwam program last week.
According to the loudmouth Assin Dompen-born lawmaker, the President was indifferent to moves; he (Ken Agyapong) and, other hardliners in NPP have initiated to have some NDC big wigs investigated by Economic and Organized Crime Office and other state investigation agencies.
“…even what we are doing today; Nana Akufo-Addo’s position is that, if he does not focus on the economy, but decides to prosecute his political opponents, it will detract him like what happened to Buhari. This is a secret I am sharing with you today. He (Nana Addo) is not out there to antagonize anybody; that, I can assure you,” Hon Agyapong said in his usual abrasive tone.
He added “today let me tell you one of my secrets, I disagree with Nana Akufo-Addo on some issues…I want to demonstrate to you how nice a person Nana Akufo-Addo is; and we learn from him. He once sat me down at my house and he asked me that, ‘Ken, when do you think we can stop this cycle…where anytime there is change of government, officials of the previous government are prosecuted and/or jailed…when do you think we can stop this?’ So I responded that Nana, are you the one saying this? I thought you are the radical type that when you are elected president you will prosecute all corrupt officials of the previous administration…”
“It was in my house that Nana Akufo-Addo asked me this question. He said we can’t move…(that way) But for me foolishness irritates, because I have been a victim of this foolishness as a businessman so when I see people… that is where he (Nana Addo) disagrees with me…for that he does not side with me. He wants us to abide by the rule of law. That is the English he (Nana Addo) learned in school but I didn’t learn anything like that,” he stated.
Both Presidents Mahammadu Buhari and Akufo-Addo made history by defeating their relatively younger opponents seeking their second term in office in 2015 and 2016 respectively in their respective countries and at advanced ages.
The two Presidents made fighting corruption among their key campaign pledges and promised to prosecute their political opponents they accused of looting state funds. Since 2015, President Mahammadu Buhari has caused the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to investigate and prosecute officials of the outgone Goodluck Jonathan administration and some leading members of People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria.
The Nigerian President has been accused of witch-hunting his political opponents to the neglect of the country’s economy. This has pushed the oil rich West African country’s economy into recession with its attendant hardship across Nigeria.
With President Buhari’s strategy to weed out corruption failing, President Akufo-Addo, according to Kennedy Agyapong, has decided to focus on rebuilding the economy instead of chasing his political adversaries.
Hon Agyapong said President Akufo-Addo has no hand in EOCO’s ongoing investigation of former officials of NDC and persons related to former President, John Mahama.
