More recently, I listened with intense interest, the NPP’s 2024 flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s meet the press session, with the sole aim of ascertaining whether any of the journalists present, would accuse him of indulging in any bribery and corruption scandal in his time in office.

Needless to say, at the end of the session, Bawumia’s incorruptible descriptive tag was intact, as no journalist could accuse him of involvement in any bribery and corruption scandal.

It is important to emphasise that the President of a nation is a serious job and as such it requires a serious and committed person with impeccable integrity.

Therefore, it is quite troubling if bribery and corruption cases are hanging on the neck of an individual who is going to look after the national coffers and has so far been unwilling to seriously disprove such allegations.

I have always held a firm and unadulterated conviction that the numerous corruption allegations hanging on the neck of former President Mahama largely led to NDC’s 2016 humiliating election defeat.

If you may recall, following the NDC’s 2016 humiliating election defeat, the party leadership set up a 13-member committee, presided over by former Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Professor Kwesi Botchwey, with the sole mandate of travelling to the length and breadth of the country to interact with the grassroots supporters and investigate the causes of the historic defeat and put forward recommendations.

The credible sources, however, had it that the Botchwey Committee’s report indicted former President Mahama, the NDC’s 2016 flagbearer as the main cause of NDC’s humiliating defeat.

On the issue of corruption, the Botchwey Committee’s report is said to have emphasised that former President Mahama was perceived to have endorsed corruption in his administration.

My dear reader, isn’t it therefore strange when Mahama keeps stressing that, unlike the current president, he will clamp down on bribery and corruption and won’t behave as a ‘clearing agent’?

If you may also remember, a few years ago, it came to light that Europe’s aerospace multinational Airbus deliberately paid huge sums of bribes to a few countries including Ghana in order to secure contracts during Mills/Mahama administration between 2009 and 2015.

Subsequently, corruption allegations were levelled against government officials in the acquisition of three military aircraft by the government of Ghana between 2009 and 2015.

“Airbus hired - and disguised about 5 million euros in payments to - a close relative of a government official in Ghana with no aerospace experience in connection with the sale of the planes, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.”

Given the seriousness of the alleged Airbus bribery scandal, President Akufo-Addo dutifully instructed the then Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu to probe into the embarrassing bribery and corruption scandal.

Upon an investigation into the seemingly embarrassing scandal, the Office of the Special Prosecutor finally concluded that the said Government Official 1 in the Airbus bribery scandal was the former president and the 2020 flagbearer of NDC, John Dramani Mahama.

The report, however, concluded that since we were in the election period and the said protagonist was a presidential candidate, the Office of the Special Prosecutor was not in a position to take any immediate action.

This is what the Special Prosecutor had to say: “The only reason the former President [Mahama] has not been invited for interrogation (in spite of all threats from some of his followers and lawyers) is the fact that he got himself an insurance as the Presidential candidate of the other largest political party in Ghana.”

To some of us, one of the biggest alleged bribery and corruption scandals ever took place in the history of Ghanaian politics, remains the cloudy Brazilian Aircraft deal negotiated by the then vice president under the Mills administration, John Dramani Mahama.

My dear reader, if you may recollect, sometime in 2012, Mr Amidu boldly came out and told the good people of Ghana that President Mills of blessed memory set up a Committee to investigate an alleged dubious Brazilian aircraft purchases negotiated by the then vice president, John Dramani Mahama (Source: martinamidu.com).

Some of us were extremely surprised when Martin Amidu disclosed somewhat audaciously that the late Mills somehow lost trust in his vice president, Mahama, over the dubious Brazilian Aircrafts deal and therefore ordered an investigation into the deal.

However, according to Mr Amidu, the late Mills could not stand his ground and woefully stooped and allowed the Committee to somehow turn a blind eye to his directives.

Indeed, there is a serious question here that the concerned Ghanaians must ruminate over and probe carefully: Did ex-president Mahama really indulge in dubious transactions?

Mind you, the allegation is extremely serious and the only way former President Mahama can obliterate the doubts from the minds of discerning Ghanaians is to lock horns with Mr Martin Amidu or face him in a competent court of jurisdiction.

In fact, a carefully considered reflection on Mr Amidu’s chilling exposition would conclude that the late Mills lost trust in his then vice president Mahama.

We should, however, not lose sight of the fact that Mr Martin Amidu was the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice under President Mills's administration, who duly prepared the terms of reference of the Committee constituted by the late Mills to probe into the alleged bribery and corruption scandal.

So, who says that Mr Martin Amidu was lying through his teeth and did not have in his possession the necessary documentation?

I will, therefore, venture to stress that if, indeed, the late Mills set up a committee to investigate his vice Mahama, then, he had an irrevocable gleam of suspicion on his mind.

In other words, we can infer that the late Mills felt Mahama was trying to rip off the nation, hence setting up a committee to unravel the furtive deal.

So upon a carefully considered deliberation, reflective thinkers may draw the inference that the late Mills was not prepared to allow any member of his administration to dupe the country through corrupt practices.

If that were not the case, why would he set up a committee to investigate his vice president, Mahama, the sole negotiator of the alleged dubious deal?

Shockingly though, we have heard the NDC faithful time and time again contesting vehemently that the late Mills did not constitute any such Committee to look into the cloudy deal negotiated by Mahama.

But contrary to the NDC loyalists' persistent denials, Mr Amidu, the then Attorney General, has been maintaining consistently that the Committee members included Mr William Aboah, Mr George Amoah, and Brig. Gen. Allotey (Rtd) former Judge Advocate-General.

I have no doubts whatsoever in my mind that Mr Amidu’s story is credible. First, Mr. Amidu went ahead and named the members of the Committee set up by the late President Mills.

Secondly, the fact that none of the Committee members came out to repudiate or disassociate themselves from the allegations gives credence to Mr Amidu’s averment. The big question then is why did they keep quiet? Your guess is as good as mine.

Mr Amidu would stress: “the terms of reference of the Committee as I was instructed and drafted them for the late President were: “(i) to investigate the processes adopted in selecting, negotiating, and agreeing on the acquisition of the aircrafts; (ii) to investigate the competitive advantage, prices of the aircrafts and the level of economic and financial due diligence conducted by relevant agencies in the process of acquisition of the aircrafts; and (iii) to investigate any other matter that in the opinion of the Committee is reasonably related to the foregoing terms of reference”. “Pressure groups never allowed the Committee to take off”.

“But the very fact that the late President Mills even contemplated this Committee meant that he was uncomfortable with and suspicious of the alleged inflated prices of the aircrafts”.

If, indeed, the late President Mills did not trust Mahama prior to his death, why should discerning Ghanaians go ahead and hand over our sovereignty to a supposedly ‘untrustworthy’ once again?

To some of us, Ex-President Mahama may choose to continue to claim birthright to incorruptibility, but we will only take him seriously if he comes clean on the Brazilian Aircraft deal as revealed by former Attorney General under the late Mills, Mr Martin Amidu.