Martin Amidu has not been celebrated enough - Bright Simons

Speaking at the 2022 Baah-Wiredu Lecture in Accra, the IMANI vice president said that Ghanaians are not celebrating Martin Amidu enough for his commitment to the fight against corruption.

He added that the former special prosecutor is the only person in Ghana who has in recent times put his political career on the line to fight corruption.

“We have not celebrated Mr. Amidu enough. There are few people in this country who can say with a straight face that they have done the heroics that he has done in this country.

“Remember when it was Woyome’s period, the president of the country is someone, he (Amidu) had known for many years, he was his vice-presidential candidate. You don’t appoint someone (as your) vice presidential candidate unless you think highly of the person.

“This president made him Attorney-General and when this matter (the issue of Woyome) came up, he wanted it to be addressed quietly but he (Amidu) refused to do that. He walked out of the office, put on his gown, went straight to court and filed processes to get the money back and then he got fired,” he said.

Also, Bright Simons said that through the actions of Amidu, when he was the Special Prosecutor, Ghana was saved from losing a lot of money through the Agyapa Royalties deal.

Even though there was extraordinary evidence that the deal was shrouded with corruption, the government was still going ahead with it, “until he (Amidu) decided to write a corruption risk assessment that declared that the whole transaction anathema”, he said.

He added that this action of Amidu made the foreign partners suspend the deal which ended up saving the country $150 million in income every year.

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