Will Mahama Prosecute or Protect Betty? - Over GH₵51.2M Woyome Scandal

All eyes are on President John Dramani Mahama as pressure is mounting on the chief executive of the land to show exemplary leadership in fighting naked corruption in the wake of the Woyome scandal. Individuals and groups are calling on the president and his administration to arrest and prosecute former Attorney-General Betty Mould-Iddrisu for authorizing fraudulent payment of GH₵51.2 million to self-styled �financial engineer�, Alfred Agbesi Woyome. The Supreme Court, which is the highest court of the land, by a unanimous decision of 11 Justices, ruled on Tuesday that the money was wrongly paid to Woyome and ordered him to refund the whole amount to the state. With the decisive verdict of the Supreme Court, Ghanaians are watching President Mahama if he will fulfil his vaunted pledge to prosecute all cases of alleged corruption or malfeasance, using Betty and her cohorts as a test case. Betty was said to have unilaterally authorized the payment of the colossal amount to Woyome about four years ago as judgment debt for a purported contract he allegedly had with former President John Agyekum Kufuor�s administration to do some financial engineering for about �1 billion for the state, which he claimed was illegally terminated. Even though Woyome had been in court for the past four years on criminal charges of fraudulently receiving the cash, Betty, the main architect of the alleged bald-faced fraud, had not even been invited by the police or any anti-corruption agency on the scam. A the principal legal advisor to government, the former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, was reported to have forced the Minister for Finance at the time, Dr. Kwabena Duffour to dole out the money to Woyome who is believed to be a major financier of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). Not even protestation by Dr. Duffour on the payment, would make the then Attorney-General rescind her unilateral decision for Woyome to be paid the GH₵51.2 million, raising serious questions about her motive and interest in the payment. Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, who was instrumental in bringing to light the Woyome case told a New Patriotic Party (NPP) mini rally at Okiashie in Accra that Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu should be apprehended because she authorized the payments as then AG. He insisted that the matter should not end with an order for the money to be refunded but �Betty Mould Iddrisu should also be arrested. She used illegal means to pay the money.� The Assin Central MP emphasized Betty did not deserve any freedom because she facilitated the GH�51.2 million payment made to Woyome. According to him, Mrs Iddrisu �has taken Ghanaians for fools for those who did not deserve to be paid money were unlawfully paid huge judgment debts.� He recalled how he was vilified when he broke the news about the Woyome scandal; with people including those in the governing NDC trying to use various means to silence him. The outspoken lawmaker, indicated he was privy to correspondences between the former A-G and former Finance Minister, Dr. Duffuor, in which they engaged in a back-and-forth argument and at a point; Betty even insulted the former Finance Minister in one of the correspondences. Political group Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) has also issued a statement, calling for the arrest and prosecution of Betty and her collaborators. In a related development, Assin Central MP pointed to another fraudulent deal in which Construction Pioneers (CP) failed to execute the Yamoransa-Ahnwia Nkwanta road project but came and demanded judgment debt of �94 million, which Betty graciously obliged and paid without hesitation or proper investigations into contractor�s claims. �This woman (Betty) went ahead and negotiated with CP and paid �94 million,� he lamented. �It is because of some of these wars I've been waging that they decided to charge me with trumped-up charges of treason since they considered me a threat to the government,� Mr. Ken Agyapong, whose fighting spirit earned him the nickname 'Akompreko' stated. Barton-Odro must resign The Assin Central MP has also called on the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament to resign for letting the nation down in the Woyome case. He said he called for Barton-Odro's resignation because the latter had insisted that the state did not have a case when the issue became public, only to be rewarded with the position of Deputy Speaker of Parliament. �There is no truth in Parliament today because you have people such as Barton-Odro in the House; he should resign and bow down his head in shame,� he stated. Tough-talking legislator believed that Parliament as an institution would continue to lose its credibility with people like Barton-Odro holding such high positions in the House. Martin Amidu Eulogised The Assin Central MP praised former Attorney-General Martin Amidu for taking the Woyome case to court after being booted out of government. Describing him as a true patriot, Mr. Agyepong advocated national honours be conferred on Mr. Amidu, also known as 'Citizen Vigilante', for his commitment to protect the public purse.