Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to sanction officials of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) who on Monday, January 15, 2018 attempted to remove the Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs Georgina Opoku Amankwaah, from her office.
“The standoff could have been avoided if the President had heeded the PPP’s call to advise the three Commissioners under investigation by the Chief Justice to step aside for the ongoing investigation to end,” National Secretary of the party, Murtala Mohammed, in a statement copied to the media, said.
According to the PPP, the drama staged by the EOCO officials led by their Acting Executive Director was unprofessional, and “therefore cannot go unnoticed”.
“EOCO should be held responsible and immediate sanctions applied to individuals involved in the act”, it added.
“The current situation where the other two commissioners under investigation are at post creates an unfair advantage and puts the two at post in a conflict of interest position to temper with evidence and the investigation, as well as disrupt the work of the Commission. The staff of the (EC) are already divided, making the work of the commission difficult. We cannot be spectators when there is chaos at the premises of our electoral management body”, the statement said.
The statement said, the sluggishness from the Presidency regarding this matter was a clear manifestation of leadership weakness.
“What prevents President, Nana Akufo-Addo, from acting swiftly if indeed we voted for a change? Former President John Mahama terminated the appointment of the then CHRAJ boss, Ms. Lauretta Vivian Lamptey when a prima facie case was established against her by the then Chief Justice. This act by the previous administration was a noble act worthy of emulation”, the statement said.
The PPP therefore reiterated its earlier position to the President, to invoke article 146 of the Constitution, to request the three (3) EC Commissioners to step aside until they are cleared of all wrong doing.
There was a chaotic scene at the EC, on Monday, after the EOCO boss led five heavily armed police officers with two armoured vehicles into the premises to forcibly remove the deputy chair, who had reported to work.
Mrs Opoku Amankwah had been on a six-month interdiction at the request of EOCO for investigations into her alleged involvement in financial impropriety. She and two other colleagues, the chairperson of the EC, Mrs Charlotte Osei and Deputy in charge of Operations Amadu Sulley are all subjects of investigation by a committee instituted by the Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo.
Story: Kofi OWUSU TAWIAH
Writer’s email: kofi.tawiah@todaygh.com