General News of Friday, 16 March 2018

Source: peacefmonline.com

'If you’re not a witch, there won’t be hunters after you' – Atik to NDC

Atik Mohammed is General Secretary of the Peoples National Congress Atik Mohammed is General Secretary of the Peoples National Congress

Embattled General Secretary of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Atik Mohammed, is full of praise for the Akufo-Addo administration for cracking the whip on alleged corrupt officials in the nation.

Contributing to discussions on Peace FM‘s “Kokrokoo” on the legal suit against the former Chief Executive of the Ghana COCOBOD, Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni and two others, the beleaguered politician believed the fight against fraud and graft will become a success when people involved in any act of corruption are brought to book.

He stated emphatically that Dr. Opuni should face the full rigors of the law to determine his innocence or otherwise.

He noted that should the former COCOBOD Boss and the parties cited in the case – Businessman cum Chief Executive Officer of Zeera Group of Companies, Alhaji Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Ltd – be found guilty of the charges proffered against them, they should be slapped with the necessary punitive measures.

The trio has been sued at the Accra High Court for allegedly for causing financial loss to the state.

The State has leveled a total of 27 charges against them.

A copy of the writ cited by Peacefmonline indicated that they are charged with willfully causing financial loss to the State, defrauding by false pretence, contravention of the Public Procurement Act, corruption of public officer, money laundering among other various offences.

The charges against the trio follows on the heels of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s 61st Independence Anniversary address, wherein he told Ghanaians to expect more prosecutions of persons deemed to have engaged in the misappropriation of state funds.

However, some, including members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), consider news the current administration’s combat against corruption vis-a-vis the imminent trial of Dr Opuni and his alleged accomplices as purely a matter of political witch-hunting.

But Atik Mohammed sharply disagrees and rebuked critics who share that view saying “if there are no witches, there will never be hunters. If you’re not a witch, there won’t be hunters after you”.

“Let’s allow the courts to do their work. If he’s clean as the claim has been made, I am sure they will let him go. If he’s not clean, no man is above the law. The President is not even above the law. He should face the full rigors of the law”, he told sit-in host Nana Yaw Kesseh regarding Dr. Opuni and his accomplices in the alleged scandal.