Woyome Faces Jail

Unfolding developments are tightening the noose around the neck of Alfred Agbesi Woyome, drawing the man at the centre of what is being touted as a gargantuan rip-off of the state kitty closer to jail. Information reaching DAILY GUIDE suggests that only a miracle can save Woyome, the man who walked away with GH�58million from the public treasury from a criminal prosecution and a likely jail term given the determination of the Attorney General, Martin Amidu, to ensure that the law takes its course regardless. Mr Amidu said the payment to Woyome was fraudulent because he misrepresented himself. With the myriad interventions failing to reduce the temperature of the Woyome saga, the interest being shown by Ghanaians alongside the evidence at the disposal of those who are ready to go the full hog, the closeness of Alfred Woyome to facing the court of law is only a matter of time. If Alfred Woyome took the issue easy, the AG�s recent actions- press statement and subsequent court action- have compelled him to do a re-think, especially the seeming helplessness of the NDC machinery to save him from the tightening noose. Also in a quandary about the approaching waterloo are persons said to have served as conduits for the Manna from the state. �I wish to assure the people of Ghana that I still stand by my promise in spite of the fact that hard core criminals in our society today have made it a habit to hold paid membership cards of major political parties in the republic as an unconstitutional insurance against crime and criminal prosecutions,� he served the notice. He said he would not be deterred by attempts to undermine him by a colleague minister. �I wish core members and supporters of the NDC who cherish the principles and ideas upon which the party was founded, to know that the attacks against me which started in the Daily Post publication of 3rd January 2012 were planned by a colleague Minister of State, who perceived that my integrity and professionalism as a lawyer was a threat to the concealment of gargantuan crimes against the people of Ghana in which they might be implicated,� he said in a statement. Joining in what has become a nationwide call for the prosecution of Alfred Woyome is a pro-NPP pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), which has demanded the immediate arrest of the so-called financier of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). They have also called for the prosecution of four top government officials over their role in the financial loss suffered by the state regarding the controversial judgment debt. Chief of Staff Henry Martey Newman, Education Minister, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Deputy Attorney-General, Ebo Barton-Odro and Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, according to AFAG, must answer questions relating to the payment of the GH�58 million to the so-called financial engineering consultant. Abu Ramadan, spokesperson for the grouping, yesterday told Joy FM that the actions or otherwise of the four persons constituted a wilful cause of financial loss to the state for which they should be held accountable. Anybody linked to the payment of the judgment debt for which there was no contract with the state should be brought to book. He also asked for an increased security for the AG who has left no one in doubt about his resolve to retrieve the money for the state. A couple of days ago, AG Martin Amidu proceeded on another notch in his bid to retrieve the ill-paid judgment debt to Alfred Woyome when he turned his attention to court. His action started with his bombshell press statement about a colleague minister of his who was scheming against him so that his implication in a rip-off of the state would not be made public alongside a possible prosecution. The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has given a veiled support for the AG in a statement condemning some NDC elements who are demanding the dismissal of some female state attorneys for being relatives of some NPP officials. One of the paragraphs of their statement reads �indeed the state, in protecting people�s rights, has empowered the Attorney General to prosecute cases based on the evidence and material available, irrespective of political coloration, and leave it to the court to decide whether or not a case has been made against the alleged offender.� The Woyome saga remains a conundrum for the Mills government, defying all remedial interventions applied so far by their propaganda machinery whose activities have been heightened since the Woyome issue broke out. Even vociferous Deputy Information Minister Samuel Ablakwa Okudzeto appears to be eating the humble pie in his interventions, tempering them with an unusual finesse. He has, for instance, assured Ghanaians that the Mills presidency will protect the resources of the state, pleading for patience in the face of mounting angst against the unprecedented financial scandal in the annals of Ghana�s fiscal administration. The Attorney General has said he was ready to face the consequence of his action no matter the opposition from the NDC. �As for the section of the rented NDC press calling for my removal or dismissal from office, I wish to assure them that I never begged to be appointed Attorney-General: I opposed it on four separate occasions. That criminal section of the NDC press should be assured that I am ready, able and willing for that eventuality. The inescapable fact is that at the end of the day truth will prevail over falsehood in the Republic of Ghana�, he stressed.