Abene Traditional Council petitions CHRAJ to probe Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II

The Kingmakers of the Kwahu Paramount stool, the Abene Traditional Council, have petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate allegations of conflict of interest, abuse of office and unfair treatment meted out against a private businessman by a former Board Chairman of Agricultural Development Bank PLC (ADB), Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II, known in private life as Eugene Asante Boadi.

The Abene Krontihene, the principal Kingmaker and Head of the Abene Council, Nana Simpe Owiredu III, and the Kwahu Akyeamehene and member of the Abene Council, Kwahu, Nana Asiedu Kwabeng IV, acted on behalf of the council in a petition filed through their lawyers, Kulendi@Law.

“We hereby write to your esteemed office as concerned citizens of the Republic of Ghana and members of the Abene Council of Kwahu/Kwahu Traditional Council.”

“This petition is submitted pursuant to Article 2.18 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 7 of the CHRAJ Act, 1993 (Act 456), which empowers the Commission to investigate allegations of conflict of interest, abuse of office, unfair treatment,” the petition said.

“It is our firm belief that the conduct of Mr Asante Boadi, as complained of, violates the core principles of integrity, fairness, and accountability expected of a public officer,” the petition stated.

CHRAJ has since confirmed receipt of the petition.

Prayers

The petitioners are therefore requesting that CHRAJ determine, among other things, whether Mr Asante Boadi, while serving as Board Chairman of ADB, solicited, demanded, or received any private benefit from Mr Darkwah Aboagye; whether he conducted himself in any manner in his dealings with Mr Darkwah Aboagye that breached the code of conduct expected of public officials; and whether his actions constitute a conflict of interest, abuse of office, or administrative injustice.

It also wants CHRAJ to determine whether Mr Asante Boadi, during his tenure as the Board Chairman of ADB, engaged in activities or exhibited any conduct that breached the code of conduct expected of public officials.

The petitioners also want CHRAJ to conduct a full administrative inquiry into the conduct of Mr Asante Boadi with respect to the monies he demanded and received from Mr Darkwah Aboagye while acting in his capacity as the Board Chairman of ADB.

Grounds

Invoking CHRAJ’s investigative mandate, the petitioners presented material facts and supporting evidence, expressing the hope that the allegations and accompanying details would meet the threshold for CHRAJ’s intervention.

It is the case of the petitioners that a Ghanaian businessman and Director of PRABHAT Trading Limited, Collins Darkwah Aboagye, applied for an export credit facility from ADB on behalf of his company for the purposes of supporting his commodity trading business.

Due to delays in obtaining the facility, Mr Darkwah Aboagye approached the Abetifi Ankobeahene, Nana Anim Dwumfuor II, in the early part of 2022, and asked him to speak to Mr Asante Boadi, who at that time had assumed office as the Board Chairman of ADB, to intervene on his behalf in his capacity as the Board Chairman of the bank.

Subsequently, the Abetifi Ankobeahene arranged a meeting between the businessman and the ADB board at the latter’s residence at Christian Village in Accra.

At the meeting, the board chairman agreed to facilitate the loan process quickly, “subject to two unlawful conditions: that Mr Darkwah Aboagye pay GH¢50,000 to Mr Asante Boadi for the facilitation of the loan application, and that from the loan amount granted to PRABHAT Trading Ltd, Mr Darkwah Aboagye would give GH¢2 million to Mr Asante Boadi as a loan.”

The petitioners stated that Mr Darkwah Aboagye, who was under pressure from his suppliers to procure the necessary logistics for his company, agreed to the terms imposed by Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II. Subsequently, the bank approved the disbursement of a GH¢12 million credit facility to PRABHAT Ltd.

The petitioners alleged that Mr Darkwah Aboagye paid the sum of GH¢50,000 to the then ADB Board Chairman in the presence of the Kwahu Abetifi Ankobeahene, as a "facilitation fee”.

The petitioners alleged that after the credit facility was disbursed, Mr Asante Boadi pestered Mr Darkwah Aboagye with numerous telephone calls asking for the GH¢2 million conditional loan.

The petitioners outlined a series of subsequent actions that allegedly resulted in GH¢2 million being credited to Mr Asante Boadi’s account, with a promise that it would be repaid within two weeks.

“Despite promising to repay the "loan" of GH¢2 million within two weeks, Mr Asante Boadi failed to do so, notwithstanding repeated demands by Mr Darkwah Aboagye. Mr Asante Boadi subsequently, through his driver, paid the sum of $20,000 to Mr Darkwah Aboagye and thereafter resorted to threats in his bid to avoid repaying the money he received from Mr Darkwah Aboagye,” the petition said.

Petition, destoolment

The businessman subsequently petitioned the President of the Republic about the conduct of the then ADB Board Chairman, describing it as “extortion of money from him”.

The President, by a letter dated October 4, 2024, asked Mr Asante Boadi to submit his response to the petition of Mr Darkwah Aboagye to the Office of the President within seven days.

The petitioners said the Bank of Ghana, after conducting investigations into the allegations made against Mr Asante Boadi, concluded that the conduct of Mr Asante Boadi had tarnished the image of ADB.

“The Bank of Ghana wrote to Mr Asante Boadi by a letter dated October 10, 2024, and informed him that by reason of Mr Darkwah Aboagye's petition, his continued holding of office as a Director of ADB had become untenable due to the irreparable damage he had caused to the image of the bank.

“Thus, the Bank of Ghana invoked Section 103(2) (d) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930) and directed that Mr Asante Boadi immediately resign from his position as a Director of ADB.

“In compliance with the directive of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Asante Boadi resigned as a Director and Board Chairman of ADB effective October 11, 2024,” the petition stated.

According to the petitioners, upon receipt of information of the petition to the President, the Kwahu Traditional Council also initiated a fact-finding inquiry and sought to hear from Mr Asante Boadi.

The petition said the kingmakers went through many processes to give Mr Asante Boadi a hearing.

“Mr Asante Boadi admitted to the allegations made by Mr Darkwah Aboagye, prostrated himself before the chiefs present and pleaded for clemency. Subsequently, the Abene Council, by a letter dated October 24, 2024, and titled "Notice of Destoolment of Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II", informed the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, the Kwahu Traditional Council, as well as the National and Eastern Regional House of Chiefs of the destoolment of Daasebre Akuamoah Agyapong II as the Kwahumanhene.”