In a recent statement, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Martin Amidu, has leveled accusations against President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, alleging an attempt to politicize the Airbus Scandal in anticipation of the 2024 general elections.

Amidu contends that the president is actively undermining the primary opponent of his favored successor within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the upcoming 2024 presidential elections.

Furthermore, Amidu asserts, as per a statement seen by GhanaWeb, that Akufo-Addo is utilizing all available state machinery, including pressuring the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), to resurrect the Airbus Scandal for political purposes.

“The Republic of Ghana under the 1992 Constitution on 7 January 2017 became the patrimony of Our Saviour, His Excellency Highness President Big Brother (B.B.) Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to manipulate and dispense with regarding what the electorate must believe and disbelieve as ordained by him, and his family and friends’ Government.

“The 2024 elections must bend to the dictates and wishes of Big Brother in the use of orchestrated political truth deployed by all levers of state power under his control to discredit his opponents to ensure his self-perpetuation in the surrogacy of a successor at the 7 December 2024 election and on 7 January 2025,” he wrote.

Amidu, the recently appointed special prosecutor, claimed that he realized the Airbus Scandal was being politicized when he received a call from a high-ranking government official and a prominent NPP figure inquiring about specifics of his investigation during his tenure, including the involvement of the brother of former President John Dramani Mahama.

He continued by recounting the following events that took place during the phone call:

“My suspicions about the in tandem orchestration and politicization of the Airbus SE-Ghana investigation were first confirmed on 13 August 2023 at 19:21 Hours when I received a 2 missed call from an unlikely source and returned the call at 19:41 Hours only to hear my interlocutor say from the other end that: “Uncle it is me…..”. My interlocutor wanted to find out from me whether I could confirm that Samuel Mahama, the younger brother of former President John Mahama, and other suspects for whom I had caused an INTERPOL arrest warrant to issue when I was the Special Prosecutor, had been arrested in the United Kingdom for extradition to Ghana.

"My interlocutor turned out to be a public officer in the Government paid from public funds appropriated by parliament who in his official capacity has nothing to do with law enforcement in Ghana. Incidentally, he also holds an influential position in the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

“I answered in the negative and reminded my interlocutor that I ceased to have anything to do with the Airbus SE-Ghana investigation upon my resignation from the OSP. I, therefore, had no interest whatsoever in following what was happening in that investigation. I also reminded the interlocutor that I had left the OSP in the care of my deputy as the acting Special Prosecutor for eleven months before a substantive Special Prosecutor was appointed on 5 August 2021. I asked the interlocutor to contact Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor to confirm whether or not the allegations he sought to confirm from me were true. We spoke on the phone for 5 minutes 35 seconds at my expense.”

About Airbus scandal:

Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer, faced allegations of bribery in Ghana during the sale of three military aircraft. The aerospace multinational admitted to engaging the brother of a prominent elected Ghanaian official as a consultant for the aircraft sales pitch.

Furthermore, Airbus acknowledged that it paid the mentioned consultant through a third party, a move prompted by concerns raised by its Compliance Unit regarding the close association between the consultant and the influential elected official.

This official played a pivotal role in the decision-making process for the military aircraft purchase.

Former President John Dramani Mahama was implicated in the scandal, with the former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, suggesting that the label "Government Official One" in the scandal referred to the ex-president.

Amidu, during his tenure as Special Prosecutor, disclosed details of how John Mahama allegedly utilized his position to facilitate a Ghanaian passport for his brother, Samuel Adam Mahama.