Listowel Nana Kusi-Poku, a leading member of the group Listowel, has claimed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) went to great lengths to elect Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as their candidate for the 2028 presidential election primarily to help him escape accountability.
He stated that the party feared Dr. Bawumia would face criminal prosecution.
By electing him as their candidate, he argues, the party has created a shield; any future investigations into his conduct can now be dismissed by the party as political “persecution.”
He reminded the public that President John Dramani Mahama, while in opposition, subjected himself to an investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
He asserted that Dr. Bawumia, as a former Vice President, should be no exception to such scrutiny. Kusi-Poku further alleged that Dr. Bawumia was complicit in the “thievery, unprecedented levels of corruption, and mismanagement” witnessed under former President Akufo-Addo.
Speaking on As It Is in Ghana on Rainbow Radio (87.5FM Ghana and 92.4FM UK), he said:”The NPP elected Dr. Bawumia as presidential candidate because they want to shield him against wrongdoing. He was part of the criminality, thievery, massive and unprecedented levels of corruption. They elected him to protect him because when the state starts going after him, they will go about saying he is being persecuted or a presidential candidate is being politically harassed.”
Listowel Kusi-Poku also cautioned the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to ensure the prosecution of all former appointees who misappropriated state funds.
He warned that if the government fails to hold corrupt former officials accountable, it will ultimately destroy the party’s credibility.
Specifically, he called on the authorities to ensure that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta faces prosecution for his alleged “dirty deals” against the state.
“President Mahama and his appointees should do everything possible to bring Ken Ofori-Atta back home to face justice. He must not be left off the hook; if he is, it will signal to future Finance Ministers that they can also steal from the state and flee to another country.”
“I want to stress this point and caution the NDC government not to take Ghanaians for granted and think that they will forget about the unprecedented levels of corruption and thievery that we saw under the previous government. They should not engage in any form of ‘scratch my back, I scratch yours’ with the previous government. All those who engaged in any form of corruption must be prosecuted and punished.
As I said, the NPP elected Dr. Bawumia as their candidate so that when he is being investigated or questioned, people will say that a flagbearer has been arrested, but they should not forget that the former President was a flagbearer but was attending to the OSP for questioning. The NDC should do everything possible to take all stolen monies back and prosecute those who stole them.”
He ended by suggesting that Ken Ofori-Atta is currently attempting to escape justice because he is aware of the “wrongs he has committed against the state.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
