A pressure group, Inside Ghana says it has enough evidence to incriminate the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo, following a suit filed against him for allegedly possessing a state vehicle for 20 months.
The plaintiffs in the case, Messrs Alex Doe and George Spencer Quaye, insist the defendant acted in contravention of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana when he used the said vehicle for 20 months after leaving public office.
“The defendant, having resigned as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in July 2007, ought to return the vehicle and not keep same for private use for close to 20 calendar months between July 2007 and January 8, 2009,” it stated.
The plaintiffs want the court to declare that “the act of the defendant to keep the said vehicle for his private use was unacceptable of someone aspiring to be the President of the Republic of Ghana”.
They are also entreating the court to direct the Auditor-General to compute the cost of usage of the vehicle under question, (a Toyota Land Cruiser with registration number GT 1983 X) for 20 months at the current rental rate in Ghana.
However, critics of Inside Ghana have suggested the group is in court because OccupyGhana, also a pressure group, sued a former Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, for keeping a state vehicle several months after leaving office.
The group led by Sydney Casely-Hayford, are asking the court to order the former minister to pay GH¢355,812 as special damages for what they described as “illegal and wrongful” use of the vehicle for a period of 222 days.
But Convener of Inside Ghana, George Spencer Quaye said his outfit commend OccupyGhana for taking steps to uphold the tenets of the Constitution, adding that they (Inside Ghana) believe that what is good for the goose is good for the gander, hence the resolve to go to court.
“Corruption cannot be one-sided. Fighting corruption cannot be the sole preserve of one person. The Constitution did not say ‘it shall be the duty of every OccupyGhana member’, it says ‘it shall be the duty of every citizen’ (to expose corruption),” he said.
“What is wrong is wrong and what is right is right. When somebody commits a crime of corruption… we are talking of our leaders; Dr. Oteng Adjei is a leader of this country and we felt the action taken by OccupyGhana was in its right place. Why won’t these same people (critics) come out and say that the action taken against Nana Addo is in its right place because we are safeguarding the public purse?” He queried.
George Spencer Quaye who is also the Spokesperson for Inside Ghana said the group is privy to “watertight” evidence to prove their case in court.
He spoke in an interview on the Gold Power Drive with Alhassan Suhuyini on Wednesday.
