NDC-UK & Ireland Chapter’s Response to THE SUN’s Publication on the Alleged Involvement of Mahama in the Airbus Bribery Scandal

The attention of the NDC-UK & Ireland Chapter has been drawn to a news story in the 13th May 2020 edition of THE SUN newspaper and a few other British tabloids. According to the January 31, 2020 judgment by the Crown Court at Southwark in the UK concerning the case between the Director of Serious Fraud Office and Airbus SE, the court established that bribe was paid to some so-called government officials between 2012 and 2014. Airbus SE was then fined $3.9billion for payment of bribes. However, no specific names were mentioned, and this has given rise to needless speculations and innuendos.

The NPP, knowing too well that they are fast losing ground as far as the 2020 election is concerned, are desperate to taint the political reputation of former President John Mahama whose image keeps soaring both home and abroad. With so much trepidation, the Npp government’s communicators have gone to town with their spurious allegations against our NDC flagbearer and incoming president HE John Dramani Mahama. Not even a statement issued by former Attorney General, Mrs Marietta Brew-Oppong on 2nd February 2020 denying the erstwhile NDC government officials or our flagbearer’s involvement in the bribery scandal would make President Akufo-Addo back down on this fruitless journey.

President Akufo-Addo then tasked the Special Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the alleged bribery scandal although the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, in its Statement of Facts, did not name the Airbus agents or the Ghanaian government officials who were allegedly involved in the crime. The Deferred Prosecution Agreement had coded names so no reference was made to any specific names. Another interesting fact is that, the government of Ghana has not lost any money in this whole Aircraft deal saga, so why this inept, clueless and corrupt Akufo-Addo government has decided to spend millions of Ghanaian taxpayers’ cedis to go on this wild goose chase, beats everybody’s imagination.

It is also being alleged that the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia led government is paying some international media houses to publish stories of this nature to smear our incorruptible flagbearer HE President John Mahama who is well loved and respected within the international community. We hereby send a clear and unequivocal message to President Akufo Addo, and a section of the media which have fallen for his diversionary and machiavellian tactics, that the NDC-UK & Ireland Chapter will not sit down unconcerned for the corrupt Akufo-Addo led government to continue on this trajectory.

President Akufo-Addo and his NPP government should direct their energies towards righting the wrongs in their shambolic management of Ghana’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic rather than wasting the nation’s resources on frivolous acts in their bid to tarnish President John Mahama’s image both at home and abroad.

It goes without saying, that President Mahama’s sterling contribution towards Ghana’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic has won the respect and hearts of many Ghanaians and the International community and is more than likely to win the 2020 elections and form the next government – hence the NPP’s desperation to smear him with criminality.

The NPP government’s numerous acts of corruption, cronyism, naked thievery and wanton dissipation of the country’s resources such as the Ameri, PDS, Kelvi GVG and the BOST GH15million contaminated fuel scandals – just to mention a few – are still fresh in Ghanaians’ minds and must be a major priority in President Akufo-Addo’s fight against corruption. However, what the President has rather done, is form committees which have bizarrely cleared his officials who were clearly culpable. This is a president who within 3 years and four months in power, has added Ghc 116billion to Ghana’s debt stock with nothing to show for it whereas the total debt stock from the Nkrumah’s regime till the end of HE John Mahama’s regime is Ghc 120billion with so much to show for it.

Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister once said that, “People’s participation is the essence of good governance.” It is on this note that we call on all Civil Society Organisations, The Peace Council, The Ghana Muslim Council, The Christian Council and all opinion leaders to demand transparency, accountability, and the adherence to rule of law and tenets of democracy from the Akufo-Addo led government.

Signed :

Mike Dzidula Kudiabor
Secretary
NDC-UK & Ireland Chapter
(17-05-2020)