Former President John Mahama has said that the report by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) that found no evidence of wrongdoing on his part in the Airbus issue is a pleasant vindication for him.
He says no allegation of corruption including the Airbus ‘scandal” has been proven against him for more than seven years after leaving office.
“We in the NDC do not place ourselves above society, we are humble and honest enough to submit ourselves to investigative bodies if a basis for it arises. Relatedly, I have been out of office for more than 7 years and several months, and no allegation of wrongdoing has been proven against me including the baseless Airbus brouhaha that this government attempted to clothe me with.
“Once again today I say it is a pleasant feeling to stand vindicated,” the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said when he delivered a lecture at the 10th anniversary of the death of PV Obeng in Kumasi on Friday, August 9.
The OSP after its investigations in the Airbus scandal case disclosed that John Mahama was ‘Government Official One’ in the Airbus SE case.
The Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng at a press briefing on Thursday, August 8 stated that there is no evidence to suggest Mahama received any bribes in the Airbus scandal, despite confirming that Mahama was the individual referred to as "Government Official 1" in the UK court and "Individual 1" in the US court.
Kissi Agyebeng's conclusion comes after a four-year investigation by his office.
Addressing the media in Accra, he explained that the investigation and the identification of those involved were necessary due to the significant public interest in the case.
"The individual described as Government Official One by the UK court and Individual One by the US court is John Dramani Mahama. He is a citizen of Ghana, and he served as the Vice President of Ghana from January 7, 2009, to 2012, and as President of Ghana from 2012 to January 7, 2017. His tenure as Vice President coincided with the timeframe of the UK and US investigations into the first Airbus campaign for the sale of two C295 aircraft to Ghana. His term as President occurred during the UK-US investigation of the second Airbus campaign for the sale of one C295 aircraft to Ghana," Agyebeng stated.
Ghana is one of five countries where Airbus paid or attempted to pay millions in bribes to secure contracts, leading to a £5 billion fine by a British court. Airbus admitted to using secret agents to bribe foreign officials, including those in Ghana, for high-value contracts.