General News of Friday, 12 February 2021

Source: happyghana.com

I was not part of Agyapa deal – Godfred Dame

Minister for Justice designate, Godfred Dame Minister for Justice designate, Godfred Dame

The Attorney General and Minister for Justice designate, Godfred Dame, has said that he was not part of the controversial Agyapa deal.

According to him, this is due to the scheduling of work at the Attorney General’s department

Answering questions during his vetting at Parliament’s Appointments Committee, Mr Dame said “I must place on record that, in terms of the actual work on Agyapa transaction, I was not part of it because of the scheduling of work at the Attorney General’s department assigned to me by my boss."

"I have studied the opinion of the Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, and fully support that position,” he said.

Mr Dame added that the corruption assessment risk done by the former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu on the controversial Agyapa deal was just his opinion.

“Mr Amidu also misconstrued the President’s suggestion that persons mentioned in the report be given a fair hearing as interference leading to his resignation.”

Among other things that led to Mr Amidu’s resignation, the former Special Prosecutor cited interference by President Akufo-Addo after he conducted a corruption risk assessment on the controversial Agyapa Mineral Royalties deal.

He said the reaction he received for daring to produce the Agyapa Royalties Limited Transactions anti-corruption report convinced him beyond any reasonable doubt that he was not intended to exercise any independence as the Special Prosecutor in the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and recovery of assets of corruption insisting that his position as the Special Prosecutor has consequently become clearly untenable.