The Ashanti regional branch of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has described as a political witch-hunt the charges level against the former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) for causing financial loss to the state.
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice Gloria Akuffo has charged Dr. Stephen Opuni and one Seidu Agongo for shortchanging the state, slapping them with a total of 27 charges.
In a statement slamming the government and the Attorney General, the Ashanti region NDC branch said: “While we are not surprised by this development, we are appalled by the exceptional determination of government to destroy the reputation of a man who has laboured to transform the cocoa sector in Ghana.”
The statement signed by Raymond Tandoh, NDC Ashanti region Secretary added “we believe Dr. Stephen Opuni is a victim of a growing political culture of hounding predecessors to justify campaign claims of corruption.”
It added: “at a time corruption allegations are rife in every sector of this government, government finds no need to deal with these allegations that are destroying its public integrity and credibility. Sadly, government has resorted to political witch hunting, vindictiveness and mirage pursuits that would not survive any serious test.”
The case will be up for hearing at the High Court in Accra on Friday, 23rd March 2018.
Dr. Opuni had his assets including his accounts, frozen by the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO), in February 2017.
Although reasons for the seizure were not officially communicated, sources revealed that EOCO is seeking to investigate the entire period that Dr. Opuni served as CEO of that critical state agency.
Specifically, government intends to probe some supposed fraudulent multi-million dollar contracts he’s believed to have signed before leaving office.
Mr. Opuni’s tenure was engrossed in several allegations of corruption and mismanagement of the cocoa sector, with his critics accusing him of running down the critical sector; which generates revenue for the country and employs millions of Ghanaians.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
