General News of Monday, 16 December 2013

Source: The New Statesman

General Legal Council must call Tony Lithur to order - Group

The Probity and Accountability Forum is calling on the General Legal Council to, as a matter of urgency, bring Tony Lithur to order, claiming that he is neck deep in the “create, loot and share” brigade being superintended over by the John Mahama-led National Democratic Congress administration.

Convener for the group, Nana Darkwa, in an exclusive interview with the New Statesman, indicated that Tony Lithur had been involved in every deal that had sought to fleece the nation of its scarce resources.

From the Woyome, Waterville, Engineers & Planners indebtedness to Merchant Bank to the latest controversial sale of Merchant Bank to equity fund, Fortiz; Nana Darkwa stated, Tony Lithur’s behaviour is an affront to the legal profession.

According to him, all these deals have had one common denominator: “the rip off the nation and cause the ordinary man on the street to suffer.”

Nana Darkwa recalled how the Supreme Court, in ordering the return of some 47 million Euros paid illegally by the State to Waterville, recommended the hauling before the General Legal Council of lawyers involved in the duping of the state, indicating that Tony Lithur was one of the lawyers in question.

“Tony Lithur’s law firm, Lithur Brew & Co., was at the heart of the Woyome and Waterville scandals, and I’m at a loss as to why the GLC has so far refused to bring him to book. Are they afraid of him because he is the President’s lawyer?” Nana Darkwa asked.

According to Nana Darkwa, Tony Lithur is behaving like a “cancerous cell,” bent on destroying Ghana.

He noted how Tony Lithur petitioned President Mahama to intervene when Merchant Bank was chasing Engineers and Planners to repay some $36 million owed to the bank.

“In the corruption-ridden sale of Merchant Bank to FORTIZ, Tony Lithur has once again found himself in this deal, fighting for the “Donkomi” like sale of this all important state asset to a company owned by NDC boys,” he said.

“Is he fighting tooth and nail to ensure that the President’s brother, who owns Engineers and Planners, does not pay the amount owed to FORTIZ? Is Tony Lithur making sure that Ghanaian pensioners end up paying the $36 million owed by the President’s brother?” he asked.

Nana Darkwa indicated that he would be forced to officially petition the General Legal Council within 7 days, should they fail to carry out the recommendations of the Supreme Court regarding the actions of Tony Lithur.