The two were each granted a self-recognizance bail of GHc300,000 during their first appearance in court today [Monday].

[contextly_sidebar id=”BNGetPxPdElYis8ndgZca4zWI2GSbRrF”]They are also to submit their passports to the state and inform the Director General of the Central Investigations Department (CID) any time they intend to travel out of the country.

Dr. Stephen Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo earlier pleaded not guilty to all 27 charges brought against them.

The representatives of Agricult Limited, the company owned by Seidu Agongo, also pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Former COCOBOD boss, Dr. Opuni; CEO of Zeera Group of Companies, Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana, which also belongs to Mr. Agongo are cumulatively facing some 27 charges, including causing financial loss to the state, abetment of crime and conspiracy to commit a crime.

Seidu Agongo is accused of being a beneficiary of the supposed fraudulent fertilizer contract worth over GH¢43 million.

The state’s argument

The state argued that Dr. Opuni misled the Public Procurement Authority to approve single-source contracts for Agongo and Agricult to provide fertilizers at a different cost.

The Attorney General (AG), Gloria Akuffo, also said Seidu Agongo, acting on behalf of Agricult, submitted fertilizer to the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) for testing.

The testing was supposed to be in two phases; to be applied to seedlings and then to matured plants for at least two planting seasons.

AG said the testing was carried out for only first phase, after which a  report recommending its use was given without the second phase of testing.

She added that investigations revealed that former COCOBOD CEO, Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni wrote to CRIG asking them to shorten the testing period.

Dr. Opuni subsequently wrote to Seidu Agongo, informing him that his fertilizer had been certified for use on cocoa plantations, after which a certificate was issued by CRIG.

Agricult’s contract was renewed in 2015 and 2016 on the instance of Dr. Stephen Opuni without any further testing, despite not applying for a renewal of their certificates.

Dr. Opuni then applied to the Pubic Procurement Authority (PPA) for approval for Agricult Ghana Limited to be contracted to procure 700,000 litres of the fertilizer, although the conditions for single-sourcing had not been satisfied. In that letter, Dr. Opuni stated the price as $19,250,000.

The nature of the product was captured as liquid despite it being powdery in form. The AG further told the court that at the time of writing to the PPA, Agricult had not written to COCOBOD stating the price as is required by law.

The Public Procurement Authority then wrote to the COCOBOD boss requesting for a value-for-money analysis.

Dr. Opuni, Ms Akuffo said, did not provide this but rather told PPA that, in compliance with advice from PPA Board in 2008, Agricult Ghana Limited had been pre-qualified for the supply of the fertilizer, a statement he knew was untrue.

On that basis, the PPA Board approved COCOBOD’s request for single-sourcing of 700,000 litres of the fertilizer.

Support from NDC

Some key National Democratic Congress (NDC) executives and officials from the erstwhile Mahama administration where at the court in support of Dr. Opuni.

Persons from within the NDC as well as Dr. Opuni’s family have described this prosecution as a witch-hunt.

The National Organizer of the NDC, Kofi Adams described the prosecution of the former COCOBOD boss as an injustice.

He said the government is only making frantic efforts to cause public disaffection towards the previous NDC administration by smearing former state officials with allegations of corruption and initiating legal action against them for same.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Opuni, Agongo granted GH¢300,000 bail each appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

He is being sued together with one Seidu Agongo, CEO of Zeera Group of Companies and Agricult Ghana Limited, beneficiaries of a supposed fraudulent contract worth Forty Three Million, One Hundred and Twenty Thousand Cedis (Ghc43, 120,000).

The contract in question spanned the period 2013 to 2016. The defendants are to expected to make their first appearance in court on March 23.

In all, the defendants will be answering Twenty-Seven charges including abetment of crime, defrauding by false pretence, conspiracy to commit crime and willfully causing financial loss to the state.

According to the suit, Mr. Agongo and Agricult Limited falsely obtained the amount between 2013 and November 2014 by representing COCOBOD to supply Lithovit Follar Fertilizer from Germany for application by farmers for the 2013/2014  cocoa season.

The suit said ” Mr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni between November 2014 and November 2015 in Accra in the Greater Accra Region, abeted Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Limited to defraud Ghana COCOBOD  of the sum of Ghc 75, 289, 314.72.”

“Stephen Kwabena Opuni on the 10th of October 2014 in Accra, agreed to permit  your conduct as the Chief Executive Officer  of COCOBOD to be influenced with an amount of Twenty Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (Ghc25,000) from Seidu Agongo”.

The state in the suit believes that the CEO of COCOBOD failed to satisfy the prescribed conditions for single-sourced procurement.  The state also concluded that  Seidu Agongo and Agricult sold misbranded fertilizer contrary to section 114(1(b) of the Plants and Fertilizer Act, 2010 (Act 803).

Seidu Agongo is also accused of selling adulterated fertilizer contrary to section 114(1)(c) of the the Plants and Fertilizer Act, 2010 (Act 803).

In fact, the state accuses Seidu Agongo of manufacturing the fertilizer in commercial quantities without registration,  contrary to the law.

Opuni’s assets frozen

Mr. Opuni, who was relieved of his post in January 2017, had his assets including his accounts frozen by the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) in February that same year.

Although reasons for the seizure were not officially communicated, sources at the time hinted Citi News that EOCO was seeking to investigate the entire period he served as CEO of that critical state agency.

Opuni’s tenure

Mr. Opuni’s tenure was engrossed in several allegations of corruption and mismanagement of the cocoa sector, with his critics accusing him of running down the critical sector; which generates revenue for the country and employs millions of Ghanaians.

As a former CEO of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Dr. Stephen K. Opuni was appointed by former President John Mahama on November 30, 2013, to head the COCOBOD.

He replaced Anthony Fofie, who headed COCOBOD from 2009.

Dr. Opuni’s ‘rot’ killing cocoa sector – GAWU alleges

In April 2016, the General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU), and the Industrial Commercial Workers Unions (ICU), launched a scathing attack on the leadership of COCOBOD, accusing its Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Stephen Opuni of presiding over corruption.

GAWU and ICU said corruption at COCOBOD, headed by Dr. Stephen Opuni was affecting the production of cocoa in the country.

COCOBOD staff defends Opuni

But some staff of COCOBOD at the time jumped his defence, insisting that, Dr. Opuni has not caused any disaffection within the ranks of COCOBOD as ICU and GAWU were alleging.

The Staff of the company thus served notice of withdrawing from the two unions, citing a growing mistrust between workers of COCOBOD and the unions.

Opuni contributed to NDC’s defeat – Nukpenu

Dr. Opuni has also been criticized heavily by some persons in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), although he served in that party’s administration.

The Greater Accra Regional Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anthony Nukpenu, in an interview with Citi News on January 16, 2017, said Dr. Stephen K. Opuni contributed to the NDC’s defeat in the 2016 polls.

Mr. Nukpenu accused the former COCOBOD CEO of ignoring people who were not within his circles, making it difficult to engage him on matters pertaining to policy with some NDC members or stakeholders.

“People come across him in public settings or private settings and it is like he has a class of people he should deal with. If you don’t fall in that class, talking to him is a challenge.” “For example, I would not go to his office to seek for financial favours or contract favours. I may encounter a challenge in his field of work because I interact with downstream cocoa sector workers. If there is a challenge, I need to meet the CEO and lay it there. And if we find it difficult in meeting him then what are we doing as a government or as a party?” Mr. Nukpenu lamented.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Opuni, businessman charged for causing financial loss in Ghc43m deal appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.