The Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) has been urged to explore all legal options at its disposal to compel officials of the erstwhile Kufuor administration being investigated for possible wrong doings in the GhC51 million judgment debt to appear before it.
Some officials including a former Minister of Sports, Yaw Osafo Maafo and the chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, Dr. Kofi Amoah, have refused to submit themselves to the national investigative body as it seeks to identify those culpable resulting in the whopping judgment debt award to businessman Alfred Woyome.
The Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, Vitus Azeem, has told Citi News the officials should take advantage of the EOCO platform to clear themselves of any wrong doings. �I don�t think that is appropriate because they have come on air a number of times to provide information on this matter. Now they have been given the opportunity to provide information to an appropriate body that has been set up by an Act of Parliament with certain powers and so I think that they should take advantage of it to provide information instead of withholding it,� Mr. Azeem said.
�If they withhold it, it fuels the perception that there is something that they are trying to hide which may lead to some problems for them. That�s inappropriate and I think EOCO has some powers it can use to compel them to appear before it. �
The anti-corruption campaigner added: �In any case, after Parliament has debated the audited accounts and approves it, it passes it to the Executive to implement.
�So if the Executive finds as part of the implementation of its report that it is necessary to conduct further investigations, especially when the Executive is supposed to establish the audit report implementation committee, what is wrong with the President asking EOCO to investigate the matter? �
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