I am not surprised Martin Amidu resigned - Mahama

Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) says he is not surprised Martin Amidu quit his post as the Special Prosecutor.

According to the former President, Mr Amidu is a 'rigid' person who does not bend to influence from other persons.

“Martin is someone we have worked with and he has a certain rigidity. We have flexibility and rigidity; he is on the side of rigidity. When he decides to stand somewhere, that is it, he won’t move.

“Before the [2016] election, he used to write a lot of things about me.  Most of them were not true. During his vetting, he told the committee the writings were informed by perceptions.

“When he was appointed after the elections, they knew he had a certain antipathy towards me so they expected he would use the bitterness to pursue me or prosecute members of my government. At the beginning that was perception but in Parliament, he had in a unanimous approval from our side as well. We decided to give him the benefit of the doubt to see how he’ll do his job,” Mahama  said on an Accra-based station as quoted by theghanareport.

READ ALSO:
Stop attacking me or I will reveal worse - Martin Amidu to government

President Akufo-Addo nominated Mr Amidu on January 11, 2018, with plaudits from civil society organisations. It was described as a plus for the government’s fight against corruption by anti-graft campaigners.

However, Martin Amidu announced his resignation as Special Prosecutor on Monday, November 16, 2020.

Among other things fuelling his decision to resign, he cited interference by the government in his work although he is supposed to be independent and also the death of former President Jerry John Rawlings who to him, was a source of protection from the threats on his life after conducting a corruption risk assessment on the controversial Agyapa Mineral Royalties deal.

The Presidency has subsequently released a letter to counter allegations Mr Amidu made in his resignation letter.

Portions of the President’s respond said: “At no point did the President ask you to shelve the report, so he could “handle the matter”. It is difficult to see in what way and in what context the President would seek to “handle the matter” when the matter was already public knowledge and had led to the Ministry of Finance suspending action on the Agyapa transaction in anticipation of your report”, the President said.