The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has condemned President Akufo-Addo's decision to refer the Airbus scandal to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in 2020, describing it as a politically motivated move intended to gain voter support.

On January 31, 2020, Ghana was named as one of five countries where global aerospace company Airbus SE allegedly engaged in bribery or made promises of payments to high-ranking officials in exchange for business deals between 2009 and 2015, according to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.

This scandal resulted in Airbus agreeing to a historic £3 billion settlement with France, the United Kingdom, and the United States to avoid corporate criminal charges.

In reaction to the scandal, President Akufo-Addo referred the case to the OSP for further investigation in February 2020. However, on August 8, the OSP cleared former President John Mahama of any wrongdoing in connection with the deal.

During an interview on Eyewitness News, the NDC’s Head of Legal Affairs, Edudzie Tamekloe, praised the OSP for its findings and reiterated the party’s stance that the initial referral was driven by political interests.

“Obviously, Ghana’s most corrupt president felt that the only way to equalise that dubious distinction that he has okayed as the mother serpent of corruption is to refer John Dramani Mahama so that while the investigation is ongoing, it gives him a political folder against the person of John Dramani Mahama.

“Today, the professionalism of Kissi Agyebeng, relating to this investigation, has completely exonerated John Dramani Mahama, related to this airbus conversation.”