I recounted how the former Attorney-General and I grew up in the same neighbourhood of Daduri at Bawku, how our family houses were only a stone’s throw apart and how for many years, we ate, fought occasionally and played football at the St Anthony School Park.

Mr Amidu apparently loved his sleep and in the mornings would refuse to go to school and try to scream down the sky over the neighbourhood in protest, which often upset and made his mother angry, whereupon, she would drag him screaming and protesting, one of her hands to his ear and the other clutching a whip, all the way to school.

That he would later become a real bookworm and subsequently one of the nation’s most astute legal brains and a self-proclaimed ‘citizen vigilante’ who has become the toast of the nation, is a story I will attempt to tell.

Unlike many high-profile lawyers of his generation, Mr Amidu did not attend the best of second cycle schools.

After elementary school, he gained admission to a private educational institution in Tamale housed in makeshift structures and designated a commercial school by its founder and headmaster, Mr Ben Gogoe.

Thanks to a thriving reading culture among schoolchildren at the time, we remained fairly close for many years as much on account of our mutual obsession with the world of books, as our being playmates.

As the years went by, Mr Amidu was obsessed with books but especially political science books. He fed ravenously on Marx and Engels.

After law school, Mr Amidu like many young intellectuals of the time who had the outlook of ‘progressives’, drifted into the emerging leftist politics of the June Four Movement.

I have reason to believe that he was one of the legal minds in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who helped refine the original vision of the party based on the previously loosely defined tenets of the June Four military uprising.

Mr Amidu graduated from the University of Ghana in 1976 with an LLB (Hons) and the Ghana Law School in 1978 with a Barrister/Solicitor at Law (BL) degree.

He also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Conflict Resolution from the Antioch University, Ohio, USA.

The former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice joined the NDC in 1992.

He was the party’s vice-presidential candidate in the December 2000 presidential elections which the NDC presidential candidate, the late Professor J.E.A Mills, lost to the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) John Agyekum Kufuor.

The NPP’s electoral victory notwithstanding, Mr Amidu insisted he was Ghana’s ‘shadow vice-president’.

Mr Amidu has served his party’s successive governments variously as Presidential Advisor on Legal Affairs, Minister of the Interior, Attorney-General and Minster for Justice, Deputy Secretary of State for Industry, Science and Technology, Deputy Secretary of State for Local Government and Rural Development and Deputy Secretary of State for Upper East Region.

He has also been in private legal practice as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana and also as a private, professional conflict resolution consultant.

He has authored at least six outstanding legal publications ranging from The power of a court to convict an accused person for a lesser or included offence other than charged, through The qualification and the constitutional position of the Attorney-General to The scope and effect of judicial power in the enforcement and defence of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

His new calling as ‘citizen vigilante’ found expression in his introduction late last year, of the now very hackneyed word ‘gargantuan’ into Ghana’s politics, a word he used to describe the scale of fraud he insisted had been perpetuated by his colleagues in government against the state, especially in the fraudulent payment of court judgement debts to organisations and individuals.

Summoned to the Presidency by the late President Mills and asked to substantiate his allegations of corruption in the government he was serving and apparently having reportedly failed to do so, he was relieved of his position as Attorney-General.

The government insisted that Mr Amidu’s sacking as Attorney-General was a result of his alleged rudeness to the late president during the meeting.

Assailed from all sides by party loyalists, colleague ministers and hatchet-bearing pro-government papers he described as a ‘partisan, rented press’ out to do him ill, the dismissed Attorney-General lashed out in self-defence and counter-attacks, issuing one defiant press statement after another and declaring his determination to wage his crusade in spite of the apparent odds stacked up to the rafters against him.

His subsequent public declaration that he was heading to court to obtain an order for a refund of large sums of money fraudulently paid as legal judgement debts was dismissed by some of his detractors as the outward manifestations of maniac depression he was suffering over his sacking.

Others said he was embarking upon a quixotic errand that would lead nowhere.

Head to court Mr Amidu did and the rest is now landmark legal history: In a dramatic villain to a gallant hero scenario, Mr Amidu has suddenly become the toast of the nation with the Supreme Court’s granting of various reliefs he sought in his suit against the payment of some judgement debts.

In the first suit filed by Mr Amidu against businessman Mr Alfred Agbesi Woyome, Waterville Holdings and Austro Invest, the Supreme Court by a unanimous decision ordered Waterville Holdings to refund to the government of Ghana, about 25 million euro it received as judgement debt payment.

The court, however, ceded to an Accra High Court jurisdiction in the case in which Mr Amidu is seeking to have Mr Woyome refund GH¢ 51 million paid to him as judgement debt.

A week later the Supreme Court handed Mr Amidu a second legal victory when by a majority decision, it ordered the Spanish business company, Isofoton, to refund to the government of Ghana, $325,472 it received as judgement debt payment in 2011. It was also to pay accruing interest on the sum.

The former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice had argued that the Spanish company had no valid contract with the government to have claimed a judgement debt from the government of Ghana for an alleged breach of contract.

The former Minister said he did not want the media publicity and was reluctant to have his profile published in The Mirror.

‘I have only performed a citizen’s constitutional duty and they are trying to make me a god.’

‘I don’t want to be a god,’ he told me.
‘In this country,’ he went on, ‘someone does something small and insignificant and they make him a tin god and he becomes swollen-headed.

The same people who cry ‘hosanna’ today will cry ‘crucify him’ tomorrow.’

‘I am what you call a village boy with humble beginnings and I want it to stay that way. I know the media means well but all the publicity tends to do is earn me hatred and resentment among those who are peeved by what I have done.’

He said the kind of publicity given him was causing unnecessary division among some categories of party cadres and functionaries.

Mr Amidu is married and has three adult children living in Ghana and the UK.

NB: This article was first published on June 29, 2013 by modernghana.com.  It has resurfaced following the nomination of Mr. Martin Amidu as the Special Prosecutor by President Akufo-Addo.
–
By: George Sydney Abugri

The post What you need to know about Martin Amidu appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The list includes Simon Osei-Mensah for the Ashanti Region, Ishmael Ashittey for the Greater Accra Region, and Salifu Saeed for the Northern Region.

Below is a profile of all the ten regional minister-nominees.

Archibald Yao Letsa – Volta Region

Archibald Yao Letsa is 59 years old and hails from Klefe Achatime in the Ho Central Constituency.

He is a medical doctor by profession, with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of Ghana Medical School.

In 1990, he obtained a Master of Public Health degree from the Department of Public Health Medicine, University of Leeds, UK. From 1983 to 1994, he worked in several healthcare instutitions in the Volta and Eastern Regions, before going into private medical practice from 1995 to 2014 with the setting up of the Miracle Life Clinic Ltd., Ho.

He is the Chief Executive Officer of AVL Holdings Ghana Limited, also based in Ho, and has from April 2016 to date been a part-time Senior Lecturer at the School of Medicine of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho.

He was the NPP’s parliamentary candidate for the Ho Central constituency in the 2008 and 2012 elections, and from 2014 to date was the Volta Regional First Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party in the Volta Region.

He is married with three children.

Salifu Saeed – Northern Region

Salifu Sa-eed is 43 years old, and holds a Masters in Development Management from GIMPA, and also a Bachelor of Arts in Integrated Development Studies from the University of Development Studies, Tamale.

He also holds a certificate in Peace and Conflict Prevention and Management from the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC).

He has been the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Commodities and Logistics Company Limited from January 2012 to date; was the Co-director of Savannah Integrated Rural Development Aid from January 2009 to December 2011; and under the government of President of former Kufuor, he served as District Chief Executive of the Nanumba North District Assembly from May 2005 to February 2009.

He was a member of the NPP Manifesto Committee on Infrastructure; and a member of the 2016 transition team meber on the Communications sub-committee.

He is married with one child.

Rockson Ayine Bukari – Upper East

Rockson Ayine Bukari is 69 years old and hails from Gambibgo, Bolgatanga. He holds a Teachers Certificate “A” from the Kantom Training College. He held several teaching positions from 1964 to 1097.

He also became Registrar to a number of Traditional Councils such as the Frafra Confederacy Council, Builsa Traditional Council, Nanumba Traditional Council, and the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs over a period of two decades.

He was the Municipal Chief Executive of the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly from 2001 to 2004. He is a leading member of the NPP, and is married with two (2) wives and eleven (11) children.

Sulemana Alhassan – Upper West Region

Alhassan Sulemana is 62 years old. He trained as a professional teacher at the Bagabaga Teacher Training College in Tamale, before obtaining a Bachelor of Education degree in Mathematics at the University of Education.

He also holds a Master’s degree in Education Management and Administration from the University of Cape Coast.

He was a Mathematics tutor for 33 years before assuming the role of Director of Education at the Wa Municipal Education Office in 2012 – a position he held for 2 years until his retirement.

He is married with 4 children.

Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh – Brong Ahafo

Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh is 52 years old and is a Barrister at Law.

He was called to the Ghana School of Law in 1997, having graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Political Science from the University of Ghana, Legon, in 1994.

He was the Local NUGS President from 1993 to 1994, whilst at the University of Ghana. He practiced law at Akyedee Legal Services in Sunyani from 1998 to 2004, and within that period was a law lecturer at Sunyani Polytechnic.

He has acted as a solicitor for various firms in the Sunyani. He served as the head of the NPP’s campaign in the Brong Ahafo Region 2012 and 2016, in his capacity as Chairman of the party in the region.

He is married with three (3) children.

Simon Osei-Mensah – Ashanti Region

Mr. Simon Osei-Mensah is 55 years old and holds a Master’s degree in Economics (Finance and Banking option).

He served in various positions within the Agricultural Development Bank from 1993 to 2000. He represented the Bosumtwe constituency from 2005 till January 2017 as Member of Parliament.

He was a member of the ECOWAS parliament, and was elected 4th Deputy Speaker from 2013 to 2015. He is married.

Dr. Kwaku Afriyie – Western Region

Dr. Kwaku Afriyie is 63 years old and hails from Sefwi Wiawso. He holds a Bachelor of Medicine/Surgery from the University of Ghana Medical School; a Master of Public Health (MPH) Tulane University, New Orleans; and is a fellow of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons.

He worked at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital; the Effia Nkwanta Hospital; and became the Director of Health Service at the Bibiani Government Hospital all from 1982 to 1994. He was also the Managing Director of Greenshield Hospital in Sefwi Wiawso from 2005 to 2014.

He was Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines in 2001; served as Minister of Health from 2001 to 2005.

As Health Minister, he introduced and implemented the National Health Insurance Scheme; introduced the National Post–Graduate Training programme of Doctors; established the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons for Post graduate training of Doctors in Ghana; and introduced the National Ambulance System in 2004.

Within the period of President Kufuor’s government, he served as a member of Cabinet Sub-committee on Cocoa Affairs (2001-2005); Member of National Development Planning Committee (2001-2004); Member of National AIDS Commission; and Chairman of Board of Directors of the Electricity Company of Ghana.

Kwamena Duncan – Central Region

Kwamena Duncan is 50 years old. He holds a BSc degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Ghana, Legon. He has taught for 22 years in Senior High School and currently a Senior Housemaster at Mfantsipim School.

He has been the Central Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party and a member of the party’s National Council since 2005 to date.
He is married with 3 children.

Hon. Eric Kwakye Darfour – Eastern Region

Eric Kwakye Darfour is 59 years old, and hails from Obo-Kwahu. He acquired a Bachelor of Arts degree in French and Linguistics from the University of Ghana, Legon, in 1982. He was a French tutor at the Abuakwa State College from 1982-1985, and from 1985 he has been the Managing Director for Ecovans Ltd.

Additionally, from the year 2000, he was the Board Chairman for Kwahu Praso Rural Bank Limited.

From 2001 to 2005, in the first term of former president, John Agyekum Kuffuor, he served as the Special Assistant to the Eastern Regional Minister.

From 2009 to 2012, he was the Eastern Regional Treasurer of the NPP, and was subsequently elected Member of Parliament for Nkawkaw Constituency on the ticket of the NPP in 2012.

In his first term as a Member of Parliament, he served on the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Privileges Committee.

In the just ended Parliamentary and General Elections, he was re-elected as Member of Parliament on the ticket of the NPP to serve the people of Nkawkaw Constituency.
He is married with three (3) children.

Ishmael Ashitey – Greater Accra Region

Ishmael Ashitey is 62 years old and is a product of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where he graduated in 1977 with a Diploma in Mechanical Engineering.

He also holds an Executive Master’s degree in Governance and Leadership from GIMPA. He worked as a Mechanical Engineer at the Accra Brewery Limited for 13 years.

He served as Member of Parliament for Tema East from 1996 to 2008, and between that period, he was, first, appointed as Minister of State for Fisheries from 2001 to 2003 by former President John Agyekum Kufuor.

From 2003 to 2004, he was a Minister of State for Trade and Industry.

Whilst in Parliament, he was the Deputy Ranking Member on the Mines and Energy Committee, a Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Member on the Committee on Communications and Chairman of the Government Assurances Committee.

He has been the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party from 2010 to date.

He is married with four children.
–
By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Profile of Nana Addo’s 10 Regional Minister-nominees appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He is expected to take over the administration of the country from January 7, 2017,.

Announcing the staff at his Nima residence in Accra, Nana Akufo-Addo named Frema Osei-Opare as his Chief of Staff. She becomes the first female to take up that position.

Nana Addo also named renowned lawyer, Nana Bediatuo Asante as his Executive Secretary, while Eugene Arhin was named Director of Communications at the Presidency.

Others names are: Brigadier General Emmanuel Okyere – National Secretary Advisor.  Nana Addo also dropped the name of Kan Dapaah, as his incoming Minister for National Security.

Below is the profile of the list of the 12 appointees

BRIGADIER GENERAL EMMANUEL OKYERE – NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR 

Brigadier General Emmanuel Okyere is a military engineer and holds an Executive Master’s Degree in Governance and Leadership from GIMPA. He’s also a graduate of the Ghana Military Academy, has a solid military background, having done almost 40 years of distinguished service with the colours.

He served in various capacities in both the military and local government. He served as the Metropolitan Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly from 1995 to 1996; and from 2006 to 2010, he was the General Officer Commanding the Southern Command

JOSHUA KYEREMEH – NATIONAL SECURITY CO-ORDINATOR

Joshua Kyeremeh is a product of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and a former Director of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

He worked at the BNI for about 22 years, where he served at command levels in the Northern, Upper East, Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions.

He also served as head of the Investigations Unit of the Bureau. He rose to become the Deputy Director BNI and ultimately, the Director BNI from 2005 to 2009.

AKOSUA FREMA OSEI-OPARE – CHIEF OF STAFF

Akosua Frema Opare, 69, is a development consultant and a labour and employment expert, with 40 years of experience in these fields.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Home Science from the University of Ghana, and a Master’s degree in Foods, from the University of Guelph, Canada.

She was a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, from 1976-1982; Consultant for the United Nations in the ‘Women in Fisheries’ programme in countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, Congo, Kenya and Namibia.

She was also Deputy Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment from 2005 to 2008, under the government of President John Agyekum Kufuor. She was a two-term Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon.

She is married with 4 children.

NANA BEDIATUO ASANTE – SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT

Nana Bediatuo Asante is a 53 year old lawyer with over 20 years experience practicing law.

He was educated in Ghana, the United Kingdom and the United States, where he obtained a Doctor of Law degree from the New York University of Law.

He was called to the bar in New York, Ghana and is a member of both bars.

He is currently the Managing Partner at Ampem Chambers, a corporate law firm in Ghana.

He is married with four children.

VICTOR NEWMAN – DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH

Victor Newman is 69 years old.

He is an economist, consultant, financial and research analyst. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agric Economics, with postgraduate qualifications in development planning and budget and financial management.

He has worked at the Economic Research and Planning Services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Western Castings Limited, and the Ghanaexim Economic Consultants.

From 2008 till 2016, he has served as the Director of Research for the President-Elect’s electioneering campaigns.

He is married with four children.

FRANCIS ASENSO-BOAKYE – POLITICAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT & DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF

Francis Asenso-Boakye is 39 years old, and holds a B.Sc. degree in Development Planning from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

He has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration degree from the Michigan State University, and a Certificate in Public Sector Management from Tulane University, Louisiana, USA.

He is a development planning, project management, and policy specialist, with over 15 years of wide-ranging professional experience in his field, and has worked at the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, Global Media Alliance, Delta Acquisitions, USA, and the Ghana Free Zones Board, amongst others. Francis Asenso-Boakye has been Political Assistant to the President-Elect since 2008.

He is married with 3 children.

SAMUEL ABU JINAPOR – DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF

Samuel Abu Jinapor is 33 years old. He first graduated from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics.

He earned a Bachelor’s of Law from the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, in 2010, and was subsequently called to the Ghanaian Bar as a Solicitor and Barrister of the Supreme Court of Ghana in 2012.

In addition, Mr. Jinapor is expected to earn a Master’s Degree in Law (LLM) in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) from the Faculty of Law, University Of Ghana, in May, 2017.

He is a member of the reputable commercial and corporate law firm, Messrs. Kulendi @ Law. He has been, since, his undergraduate days, a close aide of the President-Elect.

He is married with one child.
AMBASSADOR HASSAN AHMED – DIRECTOR OF STATE PROTOCOL

Hassan Ahmed is 62 years old.

He holds a Master’s Degree from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, and has been a career diplomat with Ghana’s Diplomatic Service for 34 years, having served in Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Cuba and Japan, where he was Deputy Chief of Mission.

He was Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when the President-Elect was Foreign Minister. His last posting was to the Islamic Republic of Iran, where he served as Ghana’s Ambassador from 2008 to 2012.

In 2013, he took an appointment with the United Nations as the Head of Office for the United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), Khartoum, Sudan, a position he still holds.

He is married with four children.

EUGENE ARHIN – DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Eugene Arhin is 33 years old.

He graduated from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Engineering.

He worked as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Materials Engineering for a year, and joined the Danquah Institute as a Research Analyst in 2008.

He was with the Institute until February 2014 when he became Press Secretary to the President Elect.

He is married with one child.

LORD OBLITEY COMMEY – DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Lord Oblitey Commey, 48, is an accomplished entrepreneur and an astute politician known for his tactical, operational and organisational acumen. He was National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for eight years. Prior to that, he served as the Greater Accra Regional Secretary for the party.

In 2012, he was Director of Operations for the NPP presidential campaign, and, in 2016, he worked in the office of the President-Elect as the officer responsible for Monitoring and Compliance.

He is married and has three children.

SARATU ATTA – PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT

Saratu Atta is 53 years old. She is a graduate of the University of Warwick, UK, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and International Studies.

She worked as a Securities Trader at First Securities Discount House in Lagos, Nigeria from 1993 -1997, and then went on to establish her own security printing company in Lagos.

She was appointed NPP Campaign Secretary in 2008, and has been Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the President-Elect since 2009.

She has one child.

CLARA NAPAGA SULEMANA TIA – PRESIDENTIAL STAFFER

Clara Napaga Tia Sulemana is 30 years old.

She is a graduate of the University for Development Studies, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Integrated Development studies, specialising in social, political and historical studies.

She worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a year, and has also worked on contract with the Ghana Health service and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on maternal health issues.

She was a campaign aide to the President-Elect during the 2016 electioneering campaign.

–

By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Profile of Nana Addo’s administrative staff [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.