ACP Agordzor charged with treason over alleged coup plot

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Dr Benjamin Agordzor, has been charged with abetment to commit treason for his alleged involvement in a coup plot.

ACP Agordzor’s lawyer Martin Kpebu confirmed the charge to Joy News. He said his client was arrested and has been detained in BNI custody since 1 p.m. on Monday and slapped with the charge.

Martin Kpebu said his client was accused of communicating with the alleged coup plotters who the government said had been cooking an elaborate plan to destabilize the country.

“He was invited to appear before BNI and he did so this afternoon…initially they said they just needed him to assist with investigations but just this evening they turned from assisting with investigations to actually cautioning him.

“Meaning that he is on his way to be made an accused. The offense they have written is abetment of treason,” Mr. Kpebu narrated in an interview on Joy News Prime.

Dr. Agordzor, according to his lawyer, was accused of assisting the alleged leader of the coup plotters, Dr. Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, through messages he sent on the instant messaging platform, WhatsApp.

Mr. Kpebu said his client was confronted with the messages in which he had allegedly advised members of the group who were planning a demonstration to seek police permits.

“And there was another where he said Ghana has conditions which are similar to the Arab Spring. That is it. This Arab Spring that today if you check in the media, you will get over 40 commentators who have persistently warned that we should take steps to create employment lest we have Arab Spring. These are the reasons for which he is being kept,” Mr. Kpebu added.

According to Mr. Kpebu, his client sees his arrest and the subsequent charge as a political witch hunt.

He believes this is so because of his famous presentation at the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) where he bemoaned the political interference in the Police Service.

ACP Agordzor is still being held in BNI custody although the offense he has been charged with is bailable, his lawyer says.

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NPP chair calls for corruption court

The Madina Constituency Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Eric Nartey Yeboah, has called for the establishment of a special court for the fast track and effective prosecution of corruption cases.
He made the call in a post on his Facebook wall, following which he told Adom News that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo showed great commitment in the fight against corruption by setting up the Special Prosecutor’s (SP) office but there is need to give meaning to the function of the SP.

He believes the institution of a corruption court will enable the SP achieve its set objectives.
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“I think this is the right time to win the fight against corruption; having an incorruptible lawyer as a president. We can set up a special court of corruption, which will deal only with the resolution of corruption related cases and give meaning to the functions of the Special Prosecutors,” he said.
Mr Yeboah also thinks a live broadcast of corruption-related cases on national television would go a long way to stem the canker.
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“We will then charge the State’s Television to dedicate one of its channels for the live broadcast of this court proceeding. We are done with the fight”, he argued.
Earlier this month, the President reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to fighting corruption, stating that 21 officials of the erstwhile Mahama government are standing trial for various acts of corruption.

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Speaking at the Ghana Bar Association annual general conference in Takoradi, the president said the cases involve a total of about GH¢772million.
Per Mr Yeboah’s proposal, all the 21 cases should be telecast live.
Source: Adom News

Rawlings takes on ‘corrupt’ NPP appointeesFormer

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has bemoaned the fact that some NPP appointees are still in office when corrupt allegations have been levelled against them.

In a keynote address delivered at a conference of cadres and activists of the revolution in Kumasi on Saturday, the former President while counselling the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to tread carefully in some of its actions, also took time to take on some NPP appointees stating that they should not be in office when serious corruption allegations had been made against them.

He mentioned the Board Chairman of the Ghana Water Company who was still in office at a time when serious allegations had been made against him over inflation of contractual figures and called for his interdiction pending the outcome of thorough investigations by the relevant investigative institutions.

Touching on the Ghana Immigration Service, Flt Lt Rawlings also questioned the appointment of the current Comptroller when allegations levelled against him years ago had not been officially investigated. He said though a court has ruled that he should be reinstated with his benefits after the Service failed to investigate the allegations within a reasonable time frame, no effort had subsequently been made to interrogate the issues and bring final closure to the allegations of irregularity and misconduct.

He said the Comptroller should have nevertheless instituted a probe to exonerate himself and identify those who were culpable in the alleged Chinese visa scandal. He called for a competent team to be put in place to investigate the matter however late in the day.

The appointing authority, he stated, can appoint some of the numerous highly-qualified senior officers of solid integrity while the pending matter is thoroughly investigated.

“If the Armed Forces is on the march to ensure that officers comport themselves with the highest of standards, there is no reason or excuse for the other services not to do the same.”

“Any crooks and/or personnel in positions of authority exposed by institutional investigations as having been corrupted by the power and authority they wield, must be thrown out and treated with the contempt they deserve, before such institutions imbibe their deformed characters.”

Corruption under NPP administration is like a 'relay race' - Anim Piesie

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) keeps criticizing the ruling Akufo-Addo led government for the lack of what they term as the 'will power' to fight corruption.

Even though communicators of the ruling administration insist President Akufo-Addo is committed to and determined to fight corruption, the NDC says that is not the case.

A member of the Communication team of the NDC, Bernard Anim Piesie says the President has fallen short when it comes to his commitment to the fight against corruption.

According to him, "the corruption under this administration is as if they are running a relay race; when one finishes, he hands over the baton to the other to continue. Almost every week we hear of something scandalous . . . PDS, BOST, PPA and now NYA . . . Akufo-Addo has fallen short with the fight against corruption. If he has anything to do, now is the time. Ghanaians need to wake up."

He was reacting to the suspension of the PPA Boss, Adjenim Boateng and matters arising on Monday's edition of Peace FM morning show 'Kokrokoo'.

Akufo-Addo started corruption from opposition – NPP’s Baah Acheamfour claims

An activist of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Baah Acheamfour has taken on President Akufo-Addo claiming the latter is the one leading the many corruption cases in his government despite his dissociation.

“Nana Addo started the corruption while in opposition and has brought it into government so I am not surprised about the level of corruption today”, the ardent critic of the President said on ‘Me Man Nti’ evening political talk show on ‘Kumasi FM’ hosted by Nana Yaw Mensah Joel monitored by MyNewsGh.com.

According to Mr. Baah Acheamfour, who described himself as good outstanding member of the NPP, then-candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in opposition superintended over corruption in party which led to the suspension of some national executives of the party at the time.

“Paul Afoko, Kwabena Agyapong and Sammy Crabbe were all suspended from the party at the time Nana Akufo-Addo was our flagbearer when they started to speak against corruption in party”, Mr. Baah Acheamfour bemoaned urging Ghanaians not to relent in the fight against corruption.

Meanwhile, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has denied claims that he was shielding corrupt officials within his government.

He categorically denied the claims that he was shielding corrupt officials in his administration whilst addressing the 2019 annual general conference of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in Takoradi on Monday.

He stated that it was not his job to clear or convict appointees of corruption charges adding that anyone with any corruption or corruption-related charges or accusations would be subjected to due process for them to clear themselves or otherwise.

NPP Government Losing The Fight Against Corruption In Ghana

Penplusbytes’ METOGU! Study findings on Anti-corruption indicates, some Ghanaians hold a perception that government’s attitude in delivering on its promises to curb corruption is rather lukewarm.


Over 95 percent of the respondents in the study affirmed that corruption is high in Ghana and is highly pervasive in the public sector where a vast majority have had to pay facilitation or illegal fees to access services. In addition, the study found out that 7 out of 10 are generally unsatisfied with government’s efforts so far at fighting corruption.


Indeed, corruption perception remains very high amongst many Ghanaians with some of the view that the current government has done little or nothing in the fight against corruption. Furthermore, the Sustainable Development Goal 16 specifically mentioned the issue of corruption and the need to deal with it. Based on this assertion, Penplusbytes’ under the UK-AID funded “Strengthening Action Against Corruption” (STAAC) programme embarked on the METOGU! (keeping the pressure on!) project to create awareness about the current governments promises on anti-corruption and at the same time carry out a research to gauge citizens perception of how government is performing in implementing its anti-corruption promises through a comprehensive participatory monitoring & evaluation (PM&E) tool.


In all, four regions were selected for the study namely Ashanti, Volta, Greater Accra and Western regions in order to capture varied and divergent opinions. Nearly 800 respondents drawn from a wide spectrum of the population of Ghana participated in the study.


The METOGU!! Report covered seven key anti-corruption themes: General Corruption Issues, the Creation of the Office of Special Prosecutor, passage of the Right to Information Bill, compliance with the Public Procurement Act and Value for Money, Beneficial Ownership Title, a Public Officers’ Code of Conduct and Assets Declaration Regime, the National Health Insurance Scheme and the School Feeding Programme.


According to Kwami Ahiabenu II, Executive Director of Penplusbytes, in a press release copied to Newsghana.com.gh “This report is to serve as a basis for dialogue between ordinary citizens and the Executive where the former gets the opportunity to inform government of what they think about its efforts in fighting corruption and proffer recommendations to review and address what progress it is making on its anti-corruption promises in a collaborative way which takes citizen needs into consideration and involves wider stakeholders.”


Penplusbytes’ 2-year METOGU! Project aimed at creating awareness amongst citizens on government interventions to fight corruption and create pathways for citizens to hold government to account to deliver on their promises.

Corruption, hardship will kick out NPP in 2020 – Baba Jamal

With about 15 months to 2020 general elections, opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is already pointing out to some determining factors which will “topple” the current government.

For NDC, hardship and corruption under President Akufo-Addo will be among some key factors that will lead to New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) defeat.

Legal team member of NDC, Baba Jamal said NPP will lose 2020 general elections on the grounds of corruption, arrogance, disrespect, unemployment, increase in crime rate among other negative things happening in the country.

He said, the current administration is equally engaging corrupt practices which is detrimental to Ghana’s development.

“The capital letters for corruption is Nana Akufo-Addo. Prior to 2016, NPP continuously labeled the then government under Ex-President John Mahama as corrupt and assured Ghanaians of running a corrupt-free government should they be voted into power. What are we seeing today?” he asked.

According to him, fuel prices, introduction of taxes and other factors have increased the suffering of the ordinary Ghanaian.

“If you think you’re better off under this government, then there will be no point to complain. However, if the exact opposite is what is being experienced, there is no need to maintain this government come 2020,” he advised.

Speaking to Adom News, Baba Jamal urged Ghanaians to kick out this government in 2020.

He, however, cautioned government to desist from any attempt to manipulate the 2020 elections in its favour.

“We are only ready for fair contest. Any attempt on their side to turn things around will not be met with easy hands,” he warned.

GII Boss takes on NDC, NPP over corruption banter

Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, Linda Ofori Kwafo has condemned the government and the main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress over their actions in the fight against corruption.

This comes on the back of accusations and counter accusations between the government and the opposition.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Wednesday, Linda Kwafo said politicians must focus on bringing down the level of corruption in the country.

“It’s not about who did better than the other. It’s about the extent to which we have been able to minimize corruption, the extent to which we have been able to pass very effective laws, the extent to which we have been able to sanction the corrupt acts."

"These are the things that matter to the Ghanaian because when you’re able to sanction the corrupt people, we are able to have resources for development and that is what we are aiming at. That should be our concern and not who did better, or who is more corrupt than the other,’ she exclaimed.

President Akufo-Addo in defending his record on fighting corruption had previously said that his government had been able to protect the public purse better than the previous government.

He stated that his administration had saved GHC2.75 billion by reducing sole-sourcing contracts from January 2017 to July 2019.

The main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), clapped back at the President, saying he was deluding himself, and disagreed with his statements.

They dared him to publish lists of the projects the President claimed that money was saved from.

President Akufo-Addo in August suspended the Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei over accusations of corruption and conflict of interest.

This followed a documentary released by freelance journalist Manasseh Azure, accusing the PPA boss of allegedly engaging in the sale of government contracts.

The NDC, still in their claims of disagreeing with the current President’s statement said, “President Akufo-Addo claimed that he had saved the country about GHC2.75 billion through the rejection of sole-sourced contracts presented to the PPA. Didn’t he know that the PPA boss was actually the source of the sole sourced contracts? We wish to submit this that, this claim is false and challenge the president to publish the full list of all the specific cases of savings.”