Ofori-Atta deeply involved in botched Sputnik V deal - Amidu

Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has said Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is neck-deep in the botched Sputnik V vaccine purchase.

In his latest epistle titled ‘Do not be like Thomas whose eyes could not see; Akufo-Addo’s Sputnik V, Agyapa & other affairs’ Mr Amidu described Mr Ofori-Atta as the “co-President” to drum home the influence he wields in the Nana Akufo-Addo -led administration.

“The Minister of Finance called on We the People, whom the Government conceives as rabble, in an interview on Wednesday, 4th August 2021 on Asaase Radio, his family’s radio station, to empathize with the Minister of Health for contravening the Public Procurement Act and Article 181(5) of the 1992 Constitution in the unlawful contract executed for the procurement of the Sputnik V Covid 19 vaccines.

“But it is this same de facto co-President and Minister of Finance who takes responsibility for the order for the payment upon the unconstitutional and illegal Sputnik V Covid-19 procurement contract for this international business or economic transaction without Parliamentary approval…

“In an earlier interview the de facto co-President and Minister of Finance gave to a Norwegian journalist in June 2021 his language in response to the interrogatories from the Norwegian journalist was couched in terms of ‘the royal we’ – meaning he was speaking on behalf of the Akufo-Addo Government…Any rational and patriotic Ghanaian who did not, therefore, reasonably foresee the President’s position on this matter after the pronouncements of the co-President and Minister of Finance at the two interviews has not analytically followed the policy and decision-making history of this Government,” he stated.

Private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, who has called on the President to sack the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, for breaking the law, also believes the unprecedented level of breaches in the deal is proof that there are influential people in government involved in the deal.

Mr Kpebu backs calls for a wider probe into the deal.

Read Mr Amidu's full article here.