The embattled Deputy Chairperson the Electoral Commission in Charge of Finance and Administration, Georgina Opoku Amankwah, has threatened to sue the Economic and Organized Crime Office over its apparent refusal to reveal the outcome of a supposed probe into her dealings at the Commission.
The probe concerned her alleged misappropriation of the Commission’s Endowment fund, for which she was asked to proceed on leave.
[contextly_sidebar id=”PnWySafSyGYOdz3yAnuws8j5b2kC9n6K”]Mrs. Amankwah was one of three top EC officials investigated by EOCO over the alleged disappearance of GHc480, 000 from the Commission’s Endowment Fund.
The loss of the GHc 480,000 prompted the EC Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, to ask the Commission’s Deputy Chairperson in-charge of Finance and Administration and the Finance Director, Dr. Joseph Kweku Asamoah, to proceed on leave.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, her lawyer, Kwabena Asante Krobea, first argued that the fact the EC Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, was not compelled to proceed on leave because she also faced allegations, was unfair.
Some staff of the EC had petitioned President Nana Akufo-Addo to dismiss Charlotte Osei for alleged malfeasance surrounding the supposed awarding of some contracts unilaterally in service of cronyism.
“…If EOCO is saying that a complaint of the usage of the endowment has been leveled against our client and for that matter, she had to proceed on leave, then, for the same Chairperson [Charlotte Osei] that made that complaint, similar allegations have been made against her by staff of the commission, but rather, she at the moment, is at post working whilst our client is at home,” Mr. Asante Krobea said.
Since then, Mrs. Amankwah’s team has written to EOCO, but to no avail, and they are beginning to suspect some foul play from EOCO.
Mr. Asante Krobea suggested that someone may be pulling the strings at EOCO because from what they are gathering, “the investigation has been concluded and as we expected, nothing untoward or no other charges have been made against our client because we knew our client was going to come out unscathed.”
But he said they remain aggrieved because “their client [Mrs. Amankwah] is at home not knowing when she will resume work.”
Mr. Asante Krobea said Mrs. Amankwah abided by the directive out of respect for the law as they did not expect the investigation to drag, but given the unsatisfactory developments, a court action could now be on the table.
“If in the pursuit of their function, we think that they are not acting fairly, we can invoke the requisite reliefs to seek redress for our client and very soon, if we do not hear from EOCO, they will hear from us,” he warned.
He however noted that, EOCO indicated that a response to them is ready, which they plan to receive sometime next week because Mrs. Amankwa has traveled out of the region.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana