Bribery scandal in Judiciary - Akufo-Addo calls for prosecution of culprits
The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is backing calls for judges found to have engaged in any corrupt practice to be punished.
Commending the ‘‘enterprising investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas’’ for exposing corruption in the Judiciary, he called on the Judicial Council to follow due process and also punish those found guilty.
Addressing law students at the University of Cape Coast last Friday, Nana Akufo-Addo pointed out that the exposé by Anas Aremaeyaw was necessary as the issue of corruption was undermining the confidence of the public in the third arm of government.
Nana Akufo-Addo asserted that he never bribed a judge during the many years he practised law in Ghana.
He attributed his success as a lawyer to great research and the better arguments he put forth during his court appearances.
“For the several years that I was in practice, I never ever, on one occasion, had to see a judge in chambers as they say. None of the cases that I did were as a result of my seeing a judge in chambers,” he said.
The NPP flag bearer, who took his ‘’Rise and Build Tour’’ to the Central Region, advised the students to develop the taste for better argument as that was the key to his success as a lawyer.
He further called on the students to imbibe the spirit of honesty and also ‘’uphold those kinds of principles that at the end of the day, you would get judgement based on the cogency of your argument, the skill of your advocate, the knowledge of the law and your presentation’’.
Key battleground
In another development, Nana Akufo-Addo described the Central Region as a “key battleground region”, which the NPP had to win if they were to secure outright victory in the 2016 elections.
On the first day of his “Rise and Build Tour” of the Central Region, he charged regional and constituency executives, as well as parliamentary candidates and those who contested in the primaries, to work hard so the NPP could take back the 10 marginal seats it lost to the NDC in the Central Region in 2008, whilst at the same time maintaining the seven seats it held currently.
He explained that there were 14 constituencies in the Central Region where the margin of victory was 10 per cent or less, either for NDC or NPP. Out of the 14 constituencies, 10 are NDC-held constituencies, whilst four are held by the NPP.
The 10 marginal NDC-held constituencies are Agona West, Ejumako Enyan Esiam, Asikuma Odoben Brakwa, Assin North, Awutu Senya West, Cape Coast North, Cape Coast South, Gomoa East, Hemang Lower Denkyira and Mfantseman.
“These are the marginal NDC seats they have today, which we are going to win in 2016,” he said, with a roar of approval from the gathering.
The four NPP marginal seats, namely Assin South, Awutu Senya East, Effutu and Upper Denkyira East, he indicated, would be retained by the NPP, thereby making the NPP the majority party in the Central Region.
“This shouldn’t come as a surprise, we have done it before. We have the opportunity in 2016 to repeat it and have an outright victory this time round,” he added.
However, for this to become a reality, Nana Akufo-Addo, as he has done in the six regions visited so far, urged all party faithful in the region to foster togetherness among their ranks
Honest job
To the people of the Central Region, Nana Akufo-Addo reiterated his pledge of not coming into office to steal Ghana’s money, urging them to have confidence in him.
“I am coming to do an honest job for Ghana. Our nation’s money will not find its way into my pockets. I am coming to do a job for Ghanaians, so they can have their economic freedom.”
The legacy of his government, he assured the people of the Central Region, would be to create the requisite conditions for the private sector of Ghana’s economy to take off and flourish.
“(This is) not the usual talk about the private sector being the engine of growth. We will put concrete steps in place to grow the private sector, which will in turn develop Ghana. That will be the legacy of the next NPP government,” he added.
