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The Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) has begun processes to petition the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over former President Jerry John Rawlings’ alleged $5million gift he is rumoured to have received from late Nigerian leader Sani Abacha.
Speaking at a news conference in Accra on Tuesday September 27, Dr Lartey said: “We will not allow anyone who is corrupt to get away with it, even if you are the president of Ghana. If we start from the top, it will trickle down. We are going to CHRAJ with our lawyers and he (Rawlings) will have to answer all these questions. No vendetta or whatsoever, I actually respected him to a point – he disappointed me and he has disappointed all West Africans. It is a sad thing that a man of probity and accountability must come to tell us that he took $2million cash [from Abacha]. Did he take it on behalf of Ghanaians? Who signed for the money? What was the money used for…? Did he really receive $2million? Are we being lied to?” he asked.
READ ALSO: Evil will triumph if people believe bribery charge against me - Rawlings
Former President Jerry John Rawlings recently lashed out at critics who criticised him for receiving a cash gift from the former Nigerian president, saying it will be a triumph of evil if people believe such a 'dirty charge' against him.
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His comments follow an interview he had with The Guardian Newspaper in Nigeria in which he confirmed receiving $2 million from Gen. Abacha.
READ MORE: "I received $2million from Abacha" - Rawlings reveals
In 1998, the Rawlings regime denied ever receiving the cash gift after the Chronicle Newspaper reported it.
He was also defended by NDC Members of Parliament when the issue was raised on the floor of the House at the time by the minority New Patriotic Party.
Rawlings resurrected the issue after he told the Guardian newspaper that he had received $2 million contrary to media reports that he received $5 million from Gen. Abacha.
His critics have linked the gift to bribery, while others have hailed him for being honest on the matter.
In a push to defend his anti-corruption image, Rawlings told the Daily Graphic Newspaper in an interview that people should search for something else if they are looking for something negative about him.
He argued that his integrity will not allow him to accept a bribe.