Editorial: Why Akufo-Addo and the NPP are scared of Corruption revelations

As the day for the 2020 election draws closer, the reality on the ground is that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his New Patriotic Party (NPP) have incurred a huge credibility deficit that propaganda alone cannot rectify.

Akufo-Addo’s promise to fight the canker of corruption was only a ruse, well-crafted to deceive Ghanaians for their votes in 2016.

Four years down the line, Akufo-Addo has proven not only to be super-corrupt, but also very vicious and will go any lengths to deal with anybody who seeks to expose corruption involving him and his appointees.

The sad reality is that under Akufo-Addo who, four years ago, was hailed as an anti-corruption apostle, one who promised to use the Anas principle, one who was a friend of Manasseh Azure- Awuni, and one who became an instant friend of Citizen Vigilante, Martin Amidu has turned out to be the biggest fraud ever perpetrated on Ghanaians. He is corruption incorporated, he drinks and eats corruption.

Alas! Under Akufo-Addo, campaigners against corruption have become so insecure, to the point that Ahmed Hussein Suale paid the high price of death for his work in the Tiger Eye team which exposed the rot in GFA, with Kofi Nyantakyi exposing certain secrets about the president.

Under the same Nana Addo, the life and security of Anas has come under serious threat because of his revelation of the bribery cabal that was running the government’s fake anti-galamsey fight.

Manasseh Azure Awuni had to be ferried to safety in South Africa after his revelations about the militias at the castle and the corruption by the Public Procurement Authority.

Is this the same Akufo-Addo of 2016?

With a few days of campaigning lef before the 2020 election, NPP’s communicators have lost the battle cry against corruption and are beginning to retreat in a Trump style.

The ruling party’s over-hyped minister for information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has finally taken ducked behind the weak defence of tagging every story exposing corruption involving the government as fake news.

   On the front pages of all the NPP tabloids this Monday(November 30), Oppong-Nkrumah, whose father was head of Treasury at the National Investment Bank during the tenure of Daniel Charles Gyimah as MD, is quoted as warning Ghanaians to beware of so called “fake news” coming out this week about corruption.

   One may ask, what is the minister and his government afraid of in their attempt to preempt news items yet to be published: What do they know that the public is not aware of; what are they do they have to hide? You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide.

   Fact is, a tiger cannot lose its spots. Nana Addo has been corrupt from day one, and was always going to be exposed with time.

   Coming events cast their shadows. It will be recalled that Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyei Agyapong lost their positions in the NPP because they dared to raise their fingers against issues of financial malfeasance involving the favorites of Nana Addo.

Secondly, when Akua Djanie-Manfo “Blakofe” resigned from the government so early in 2017 or 2018, and warned of the massive corruption taking place at the Tourism Authority, a government determine to fight corruption would have instituted a probe into the affairs of GTA , but what did we see? No action!

Read More: AKUFO-ADDO: A Kyebi political chameleon destroying himself in a downpour of mediocrity – An Owula Mangortey observation

It is therefore not surprising that Akufo-Addo has gained the title of Mother-Serpent of Corruption in Ghana, the first such title for any Ghanaian leader.

Power doesn’t corrupt anybody; it is rather corrupt people who get exposed once they get to power. And if Akufo-Addo wasn’t corrupt, these issues wouldn’t have happened under him, or even if they do, he would have been bold to tackle them.

Instead of dealing with his colleague corrupt officials, Nana Addo spent the last four years clearing every official who caught in corruption scandals.

Fish rots from the head, and so the pervasive and endemic levels of corruption in the NPP government is only symptomatic of the kind of leadership we have. The leader is rotten to the bones/

The leader himself is corrupt. He is a mother-Serpent pregnant with eggs of corruption, which he hatches for the benefit of his family members.

The attempt today to tag stories exposing corruption involving Nana Addo and his appointees as fake won’t wash.

Fact is, a thief is always worried about the next announcement by the gong-gong beater. Akufo-Addo and his government have proven to be the most corrupt in the history of Ghana and are therefore afraid of the next stories coming out about corruption in the media.

If Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah wants Ghanaians to believe that the allegations against the president and his appointees are fake, he should tell us Which of the past corruption allegations have been proven to be fake

The Cash-for seats allegation, was it fake? The allegations by Akua Djanie-Manfo Blakofe; The contaminated fuel scandal, was that also fakel The Ameri deal renegotiation which was meant to make Ghana lose 800 million dollars, were they fake too?

Was it also fake news that when the news about this Ameri deal came out some government officials wanted to deceive Ghanaians that the president had been misled, but Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko came out to expose them?

What about the PDS scandal, was it fake; he bribery scandal involving Charles Bissue; the missing excavators, was that also fake; the missing tricycles(Aboboya); the dolling out of GNPC money to Okyehene to celebrate his traditional festival; were these all fake?

What about the payment of 1 million dollars to Kroll and Associates by Yaw Osafo Marfo for no work done?; The dolling out of GCB money to Sister Keepers Foundation belonging to Akufo-Addo’s daughters; The PPA scandal; were they also fake?

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) has reported that at least 1.5 billion Ghana cedis of petroleum revenue cannot be accounted for by this government; and the stinking rotten Agyapa deal, are they all fake?

For someone who campaigned with a solemn pledge to Ghanaians to root out corruption in the political and public space of Ghana, any revelation of corruption would have been considered a a further support for the fight to rid the country of corruption.

This is what John Mahama did. He took action in the GYEEDA case and some monies were retrieved. In the infamous guinea fowls and tree planting saga, the beneficiaries were made to pay back whatever they may have received fraudulently, while Abuga Pele is serving a prison term for the GYEEDA issues.

The bus branding scandal caused the minister for transport to lose her position and the excess payment was retrieved for the state. That might not be enough, but if Akufo-Addo had just emulated that, Ghanaians would have taken him seriously.

Unfortunately, however, the president himself is reported to be neck-deep in the grabbing of state resources and looting of state purse. The promise to protect the public purse was just a charade.

Today, all the Auditor General, Yaw Domelevo has been hounded out of office, and Martin Amidu has been compelled by the events surrounding the Agyapa deal to resign, and he doesn’t feel safe in his mother land.

Anas and his team members don’t feel safe, Manasseh Azure-Awuni does not feel safe, all because if they dare to touch any issue of corruption in this government again, the mother serpent of corruption will unleash his venomous baby snakes on them and we could have more martyrs of the fight against corruption on our hands.

The verdict is out, Akufo-Addo is the personification of corruption, and kicking him out of office is not only the urgent step towards reigniting the fight against corruption, but it is also a civic duty.

By DESK