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.

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

The three defendants made the plea during their first court appearance today [Monday].

[contextly_sidebar id=”d5gpa3IxAu95CykoHpdioQTCzS4dDez8″]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.

–

By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Opuni, Seidu Agongo plead not guilty to all charges appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

“This action we consider to be political persecution of the highest order,” a statement from the branch said.

[contextly_sidebar id=”4rzJUKfM1mt1rc2DcVdCQ4aXxL6xmWyl”]The Brong Ahafo NDC joins the Ashanti branch of the NDC, and the party’s National Organizer, Kofi Adams, who have described the trial as a witch-hunt.

The Attorney General has filed 27 counts including causing financial loss to the state against Dr. Opuni and one Seidu Agongo, CEO of Zeera Group of Companies and Agricult Ghana Limited, beneficiaries of a supposed fraudulent fertilizer supply contract worth GHc43,120,000.

In the view of the Brong Ahafo NDC, the government has clearly “initiated some selective political persecution against his [Opuni’s ] person.”

In a statement signed by the Regional Secretary of the party, Dennis Yeboah Twumasi, the party said the government was engaged in “political propaganda, vilification, open hatred and outright persecution.”

“His [Opuni’s] prosecution only seeks to prevent and reduce his standing in politics based on very spurious allegations of procurement and administrative infractions. This has been preceded by a flurry of media headlines, subjecting him to an open-air political trial and a trial in the court of NPP public opinion supported with earlier pressure from some leading Members of New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Government, to commence prosecution of former NDC Government appointees including Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni for alleged acts of corruption for over a year now.”

The NDC branch, however said it remains confident that Dr. Opuni will be exonerated if he goes through a fair trial.

“We Members of the Brong Ahafo Regional Branch of the NDC strongly believe that Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni will be exonerated and acquitted by the court if only the trial follows due process and is conducted by a court of competent jurisdiction in an open and transparent manner.”

Find below the full statement

PERSECUTION OF Dr. STEPHEN OPUNI BASED ON POLITICAL OPINION

It was widely reported in the media towards the close of last week about the intention of the NPP Government to prosecute Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni the immediate past Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD). This action we consider to be political persecution of the highest order.

In this regard, we Members of the Brong Ahafo NDC express our strong support for the former hard-working Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD, Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni. We clearly see that the Government has initiated some selective political persecution against his person. His prosecution only seeks to prevent and reduce his standing in politics based on very spurious allegations of procurement and administrative infractions. This has been preceded by a flurry of media headlines, subjecting him to an open-air political trial and a trial in the court of NPP public opinion supported with earlier pressure from some leading Members of New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Government to commence prosecution of Former NDC Government Appointees including Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni for alleged acts of corruption for over a year now.

Interestingly, the flood of responses from Government Spokespersons and its party Communicators on Dr. Opuni’s prosecution has given rise for people to question the role that the NPP’s political persecution plays in an open and democratic society. We believe strongly that it is the responsibility of the State to investigate and fight corruption in the public interest. That is fair.

What this means is that, Government Communicators can only serve the interests of the citizenry by putting out truthful and relevant information when it comes to protecting the public purse. But what the NPP is doing is different. They are engaged in political propaganda, vilification, open hatred and outright persecution.

We entreat the general Public and Members of the NDC not to lend credence to NPP’s political agenda. How come that charges leveled against an accused person are leaked to the media even before they are filed in court? It is simply a well-planned, rehearsed and choreographed game in which they have targeted some influential former Appointees of the NDC Government, including Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni for humiliation and harassment. We consider this to be most unfair as he is being condemned even before the trial.

We Members of the Brong Ahafo Regional Branch of the NDC strongly believe that Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni will be exonerated and acquitted by the court if only the trial follows due process and is conducted by a court of competent jurisdiction in an open and transparent manner. We have confidence in our judiciary, and given the opportunity, they will deliver a fair and satisfactory judgment based on the facts and evidence adduced before them.
In the meantime, we declare our unconditional support for Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni as he is presumed innocent until proven otherwise by the court.

Signed

Dennis Yeboah Twumasi
Regional Secretary, B/A

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, the specific charge of causing financial loss to the state cannot be held against Mr. Opuni since no individual or group of cocoa farmers have publicly claimed he supplied ineffective fertilizers during his tenure.

[contextly_sidebar id=”sqRyPqQZw1nhiAiEjtNso9yxbmkJHvA4″]Speaking on The Big Issue, George Loh cautioned against the deliberate persecution of former government officials, noting that there must be “prosecution and not persecution.”

He indicated that the Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Afriyie Akoto, must equally be charged for supplying ineffective chemicals worth millions of dollars to farmers at the height of the fall armyworm outbreak in the country.

“Is Nana Addo not seeing that his Minister for Agriculture [Dr. Afriyie Akoto], bought chemicals [worth] millions of dollars and the farmers who used it, came out publicly and told the minister that these are bogus chemicals? Nana Addo is asleep, he hasn’t heard that. And that one, it cannot go for EOCO, it cannot go for trial… The fall armyworm case, where we spent millions of dollars to buy chemicals that did not work, that one the Minister did not cause financial loss to the state?” he quizzed.

“This one [Dr. Opuni’s case], no farmer has come to say the chemicals didn’t work. In fact, records even show that we had actually improved our cocoa yield. No technical person has come out to say the fertilizer did not meet the standards,” he added.

‘Dr. Opuni charged’

The Attorney General last week filed some 27 counts including a charge of causing financial loss to the state against Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni.

He is being sued together with one Seidu Agongo, CEO of Zeera Group of Companies and Agricult Ghana Limited, beneficiaries of a supposed fraudulent fertilizer contract worth over GH¢43 million.

The first court hearing has been scheduled for March 23, 2018.

But Mr. George Loh, who is also a private legal practitioner said the state must be fair in dealing with such matters.

“All I’m saying in simple terms is that, when people have done wrong in this country, they must be prosecuted, but not persecuted,” he told the host of The Big Issue, Selorm Adonoo on Saturday.

Opuni’s prosecution a case of ‘injustice’

Meanwhile, the National Organizer of the NDC, Kofi Adams, has described the prosecution of the former COCOBOD boss as 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, although its own officials have been cited for various acts of corruption.

–
By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Be fair to Opuni; don’t persecute him – George Loh appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The convicts, Christian Obeng, a businessman, and Latif Apulala, a driver, were said to have created a fake Facebook account in the name of the former COCOBOD boss and used it to dupe people under the pretext of securing jobs for them at the COCOBOD.

The Accra Circuit Court last Friday sentenced them after they were found guilty, reports Graphic Online’s court reporter, Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson.

They had pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit crime while Obeng pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of impersonation, but the court held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt to ascertain their guilt.

Obeng, the mastermind behind the scheme, was slapped with a five-year jail term, while Apulala, the one tasked to be collecting money from the victims, was jailed for two years.

Both of them were also ordered by the court, which was presided over by Mrs Ruby Naa Adjeley Quaison to sign a bond to be of good behaviour or in default serve another year in prison.

Facebook account

The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Stephen Kwame Adjei, told the court that on February 26, 2016, someone reported to the police that he had seen a Facebook account with the username “Stephen K. Opuni” with a picture of Dr Opuni.

But when Dr Opuni was contacted, he denied having any such account or ever signing up for Facebook.

According to the prosecutor, Obeng, through a conversation on Facebook, promised to secure a job for the informant at COCOBOD if he paid GH¢4,000. The police then told the informant to feign interest in the deal.

“Obeng told him to meet his messenger at Achimota with his application letter and an initial payment of GH¢3,500 to facilitate the process. The informant went to the meeting place and found Apulala, who was immediately arrested,” he said.

Mr Adjei stated that Apulala was made to call Obeng to inform him that he had gone for the money. Obeng subsequently told Apulala he would meet him at home for the money.

“Obeng showed up four hours later and he was arrested,” he added.

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Source: Daily Graphic

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