NPP Germany has followed with keen interest the Woyome saga as it unfolds and has on several occasions and on different platforms made our position very clear as to the complicity of the President in this fraud. Since news of this massive corruption scandal first broke out, we have always maintained that President John Evans Atta-Mills cannot deny knowledge of the matter and that he is a willing participant and an active accomplice in this gargantuan fraud against the people of Ghana.

Subsequent events particularly the revelation by the EOCO report indicate that the President had on two different occasions ordered that the monies should not be paid but were ignored. This goes to vindicate and confirm our long-held conviction that indeed the President had both actual and constructive knowledge about 58 Million Ghana cedis paid to Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome.

Whichever way one looks at it, we are convinced that the EOCO report and the way it was hurriedly prepared is a deliberate but desperate attempt to exonerate the President and portray him in a good light. However, in their attempt to cover up the President, EOCO has unwittingly reaffirmed the contradictions and inconsistencies in the President’s own earlier statements and pronouncements and ended up implicating him.

It would recalled that the President in an interview with Radio Gold stated categorically that he was not interested in who got what and for what reason. His main concern according to him was how the debt was incurred in the first place. What the President was in effect telling Ghanaians was that he was not interested in the illegality or otherwise of the means used by Mr Alfred Abgesi Woyome to procure the fraudulent payment .We find such statements coming from a President whose duty it is to protect and defend the interest of Ghana and Ghanaians rather unfortunate, reckless and irresponsible to say the least. It therefore came as no suprise when the President sacked Mr Martin Amidu who was bent on unearthing this criminal act.

What casts more doubt and raises questions about the truthfulness and honesty of our President is the fact that on his return to Ghana on January 2 from the cancer treatment centre in New York, President Mills denied any knowledge of the payment and told Ghanaians he needed briefing and more information to enable him make an informed decision. With the recent disclosure by EOCO that President ordered that payment should not be made as far back as April 2010, one does not need to be rocket scientist to know that President has failed and refused to tell the truth which per the provisions of our constitution is an impeachable offence.

While interacting with media practitioners in January 2012, the President once again denied any knowledge of the payment and without any shred of shame stated he was not criminally minded and irresponsible to authorise such payments if he was made aware. Clearly if the EOCO report is to be believed then it stands to reason that the President of Ghana has all along been lying to the people just to cover his crony and financier Mr Agbesi Woyome. Not only did the President fail to tell the truth, he has supervised, encouraged and participated in the commission of this gargantuan crime. The president in our view has been a willing participant and a culpable accomplice and not an innocent bystander in the Woyome saga

Equally disturbing is the revelation that the President’s orders and instructions were on two different occasions ignored, disregarded and treated with contempt. This raises very serious and fundamental questions as to who is in charge. Do we have an elected executive president or just a mere figure head who has virtually no/lost control over his Ministers and other appointees? How often and on how many occasions has the President’s instruction/orders been ignored and disregarded by his subordinates? What action/steps did the President take to instil discipline and assert his authority over the unruly members of his cabinet/government? We can state without the least doubt that President John Evans Atta-Mills has lost control over his government and in not capable of running the country and should therefore step down as President. While admitting that the President has been a disaster and failure, our country Ghana is not a failed state and what Ghanaians demand and deserve at this crucial moment in our history is leadership that has integrity and credibility all of which seem to be in short supply under the Mills Presidency. The abysmal failure on the part of the President to demonstrate leadership, integrity and honesty has made his position untenable and the only cause of action is for the President to resign immediately so as to save our country from further embarrassment.

Signed

Kwaku Anane-Gyinde

Director of Communications NPP- Germany