Airbus scandal: Mahama is 'Government Official 1' - NPP alleges

The governing New Patriotic Party has named former President John Dramani Mahama as the ‘Government Official 1’ in a bribery case against European aviation giant, Airbus.

The party has dared the former president to speak on the issue if he is indeed innocent.

Addressing a press conference in Accra, Communication Director of the party, Yaw Buabeng Asamoah said “candidate Mahama is no stranger to speaking to the international community. He has been known to assemble diplomats and speak to them even when he was telling lies. Now we want him to assemble the diplomats and tell them whether he is involved with the airbus scandal as government official 1. We should tell the whole nation. It’s a serious matter and the accusations demand immediate action.”

He added that this wasn’t the first time a court was declaring the erstwhile Mahama government as corrupt.

“This is not the first time, and this is the UK declaring there were issues in the contract, confirming what the Ghanaian court had earlier said that his government came to create loot and share environment.”

Ghana was last week mentioned in an agreement between Airbus and the British Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to defer prosecution of a bribing case against the former.

The British SFO was investigating Airbus for failing to prevent corruption in transactions in five countries, including Ghana.

It was agreed between the two parties that if Airbus complies with the terms of agreement within the three-year period for which the prosecution has been deferred, the British SFO will discontinue the prosecution.

Though no Ghanaian official was named to have been bribed during Ghana’s negotiations with Airbus for the purchase of some aircrafts during the Mills and Mahama administrations in the deferred agreement, reference was made to personalities involved as Government Official 1 (a high-ranking elected public figure) and Intermediary 5 (a British national and close relative of Government Official 1), among others.

The NPP, however, believes that the person referred to as Government Official 1 is former President John Mahama.

“In the face of these facts, it is very necessary for president Mahama to come out and be heard publicly. He cannot continue to hide behind his party members including a former attorney general. Of course, we are all aware that he hates answering questions on corruption but the answer he must because at this moment all fingers point to him and one of his brothers.”

The party says the former president should point out persons in his government who were involved in the bribery issue if he wasn't.