Akufo-Addo more than honest; not corrupt – Allotey Jacobs

Former Central Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bernard Allotey Jacobs, has jumped to the defense of President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo who has been tagged as a clearing agent for corruption by the opposition.

Allotey Jacobs, who now describes himself as a social commentator, says it is wrong to tag Akufo-Addo as corrupt.

“You can’t hang corruption on the neck of Akufo-Addo. If you know him well, you will know that you cannot hang corruption on his neck. The same way you cannot hang corruption on Mahama’s neck. It is the appointees that are corrupt,” he indicated on Peace FM's morning show ‘Kokrokoo’.

Background

Allotey Jacobs was reacting to comments made by the NDC at a press conference on Tuesday.

The NDC's press conference was against the backdrop of President Akufo-Addo’s speech delivered on Monday at the Bar Conference held in Takoradi.

While addressing the 2019 Conference of the Ghana Bar Association, in Takoradi, in the Western Region, the President, who has been tagged as a ‘clearing agent’ by members of the opposition party, insisted that all his appointees accused of corruption have been exonerated because they were declared innocent by investigative agencies directed to probe such claims made against them.

He accused the opposition NDC of fabricating corruption allegations against his appointees.

"It is not my job to clear or convict any person accused of wrongdoing, or of engaging in acts of corruption...it cannot be the case that people are condemned on the basis of mere allegations. That is the law of the jungle” he indicated.

The NDC shot back on Tuesday accusing the president of having made "corruption the foundation of his government”, and his assertions not in sync with the reality on the ground.

General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, at a press conference described Nana Addo as the "most nepotistic” President Ghana has ever produced, adding that “he (Akufo-Addo) must accept full responsibility for the unenviable accolade as the most corrupt President in Ghana’s history, which hangs around his neck and find out why it is so.”

He further pointed out that "it has been established beyond all reasonable doubt that corruption is a way of life for the President and his government”.



Delay in Justice Delivery

But contributing to a panel discussion on the flagship ‘Kokrokoo’ show, Allotey Jacobs pooh-poohed on the attempt by the NDC to hang a tag of corruption around the president's neck.

He, however, believed delay in the delivery of justice was threatening the fight against corruption.

"....if the judiciary could expedite prosecution on corrupt matters, it will serve as a deterrent to others," he added.