General News of Saturday, 11 February 2017

Source: classfmonline.com

GHS51m saga: Amidu's withdrawal a loss – Jantuah

Former Attorney General Martin Amidu Former Attorney General Martin Amidu

Former Attorney General Martin Amidu could regret his decision to withdraw his request to cross-examine businessman Alfred Woyome in the GHS51.2million judgement debt saga, Kwame Jantuah, a member of the CPP, has said.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 8 February struck out Mr Amidu’s request to be allowed to cross-examine Mr Woyome in court. Mr Amidu, who filed the case ahead of the 2016 presidential elections, withdrew saying there had been a change in government hence would leave the new Attorney General and Minister of Justice Gloria Akuffo to retrieve the money.

The Citizen Vigilante, as Mr Amidu has come to be known, had filed the application following a move by then Attorney General Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong to discontinue oral examination of Mr Woyome in connection with the judgment debt.

Mr Jantuah, however, stated that Mr Amidu should have pursued the matter, at least, for “public interest purposes”, adding that the former Attorney General may live to rue his actions if it happens that the new political administration decides not to go ahead with the retrieval of the amount owed the state by Mr Woyome or does not have the entire set of facts to push for the refund.

“Would it be a lost opportunity if it so happens that this government is not able to prosecute Woyome? So, I would have thought that he would have taken advantage of the opportunity, for Ghanaians’ sake, and gone ahead with it and question Woyome so that whatever the case, he will be helping this present government… by his act. …And, so, I think it’s a lost opportunity,” Mr Jantuah said on Newsfile on Multi TV.

His views were shared by former North Dayi MP, George Loh, who said he was left “disappointed” by the turn of events, saying with all the trouble Mr Amidu went through, including his call on Ghanaians to vote for change if they wished to see the state retrieve its monies from Mr Woyome, he would have thought the former vice presidential candidate would pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.

Mr Loh explained that Mr Amidu’s sudden disinterest in the matter leaves the general public to give their own “interpretations” regarding his conduct.