General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has asked President Akufo-Addo to allow the Special Prosecutor probe the alleged payment of $100,000 by expatriates to sit closer to him at a recent event.
According to Johnson Asiedu Nketia, there is the need for a bipartisan probe into the matter to unearth the real facts.
“I have never trusted this government especially when it comes to corrupt acts which needs to be investigated. This issue is a serious one and for that matter, we need a special prosecutor’s office to investigate it because it’s seen as corruption at the highest level” he said on Accra based Neat FM.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has cleared the Trades Minister in what has become the cash for a presidential seat scandal.
The president says the information available to him on the $100,000 reserved-seat scandal does not support the claim of wrongdoing.
“The facts, as reported to the president, do not disclose any wrongdoing on the part of the Minister or any government official,” Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid said in a statement Thursday.
The government’s statement comes days after public outrage over claims that the Trades Ministry has extorted $100,000 from expatriates for a “presidential seat” at the Ghana Expatriates Business Awards (GEBA).
Deputy Trades Minister, Carlos Ahenkorah has admitted some monies were taken from expatriates but said they were later transferred into the account of the awards organizers, Millennium Excellence Foundation (MEF).
But Mr Asiedu Nketia described the government’s statement as complete cover-up and unacceptable.
He indicated that the earlier such acts are discouraged the better for the image of the country.
Listen to Asiedu Nketia
Source: Adomonline.com/Dorcas Abedu-Kenendy
