Akomea: Mahama Violated His Own Code Of Ethics By Attending Meeting Over Brother's Debt

Former Communications Director for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akomea has accused president John Mahama of violating his own Code of Conduct for appointees in his government by, participating in a meeting with officials of Merchant Bank and Engineers and Planners over the latter's indebtedness to the bank. President Mahama last Tuesday denied using executive power to influence Merchant Bank when he met representatives from Merchant Bank and Engineers and Planners (E&P) at the Presidency. Speaking to journalists to mark the first anniversary of his administration, the president, admitted attending the meeting on the instruction of late president John Atta Mills in 2012 when he was vice president, but never did he issue a directive to the Bank not to recover the loan. Tony Lithur, Lawyer for E&P, a company owned by the president's brother, Ibrahim Mahama, had petitioned the Presidency over the 'unfair' means with which the Bank had adopted to recover a loan granted E&P. But speaking on weekly news analysis programme News File on Joy News TV and Joy FM on Saturday, Nana Akomea maintained that the president had no business presiding over a meeting to discuss the indebtedness of his brother's company to the Bank. The former Information Minister in the erstwhile John kufuor administration said the president failed to take advantage of the opportunity to tell Ghanaians the truth about his involvement in the case between the Bank and his brother 's company. "The president missed a very good opportunity to be completely truthful to Ghanaians on the Merchant Bank deal...He has violated his own code of ethics. "Why would you be sitting in meetings to discuss your brother's dealings with a bank? Why would you be doing that?". However, Information and Media Relations Minister, Mahama Ayariga in a reaction stated said the president cannot be blamed for merely participating in the meeting because, he had no alternative. "As president you cannot abdicate your responsibility as the head of the executive arm of government...Because he has no alternative, any matter that comes to him he must look at it but he has sworn an oath to enforce the law without fear or favour. "At the end of the day it is up to you [members of the public] to assess and judge [him]," Mr. Ayariga stressed.