The Kontihene of Akyem Asuom, Nana Boadi Amponim Obodade III, has called on President John Dramani Mahama to institutionalise the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) Committee.

Speaking in an interview on GHOne TV on Friday, January 17, 2025, he emphasised that ORAL should be empowered with the legal authority to prosecute and take individuals to court, urging the president to push for laws that will provide ORAL with prosecutorial powers.

"I am begging the powers that be, go to Parliament, enact the laws that will back ORAL, so that ORAL will have all the capacity to prosecute, the legal right to go to court and subject all these people to what Ghanaians want,” he stated.

The Kontihene further explained that ORAL is a significant factor in the NDC's election victory, hence there is the need to ensure it is instuitionalised.

He argued that ORAL must last beyond 2028, ensuring that it has the institutional backing necessary to combat corruption.

"We actually voted for President John Dramani Mahama because of ORAL. It is one of the number one reasons we voted for NDC and so for him to listen to what the other party is saying and give it over to OSP is a no no. Anyway, if we are going to leave it with the OSP, we must make it an institution. ORAL has come to stay, so that any corruption that has to do with government appointees, even presidents and vice presidents can be investigated,” he asserted.

Nana Obodade III also expressed concerns about transferring such cases to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP)

"If you are giving these cases to the OSP, you will be cleared. If you're giving to the police, I am not downplaying the police, but we have been in this country where cocaine has mysteriously turned into 'kokonte powder.' We know the bureaucracy within the police service,” he stated.

ORAL, set up by President John Dramani Mahama, has been tasked with the mandate of investigating and documenting cases of alleged corruption and recovering misappropriated state assets.

JKB/AE

Meanwhile, find out why K.T. Hammond has dragged Captain Smart to court below: