Airbus scandal: Mahama has never been accused or investigated for wrongdoing — Special aide

A statement issued on Friday, November 24, 2023, signed by the special aide to former president, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, said the planned picketing by Fixing the Country Movement was clearly designed to take the attention of Ghanaians from the mismanagement of the economy by the government led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

It said the "needless aborted picketing" was to divert attention from the public's frustration with hunger and high costs of living, and the citizenry's anger with the daily reports and evidence of high-level corruption sanctioned by the Presidency.

Airbus Pulse Ghana

The statement indicated that the NDC flagbearer has never been "accused of, or investigated for, any involvement or wrongdoing of any sort by either the UK or US authorities in relation to Airbus.

Indeed, neither the Ghanaian government nor any other authority anywhere in the world has any evidence of wrongdoing against him."

It revealed: "The Serious Fraud Office of the United Kingdom has long announced their discontinuation of the Airbus case due to lack of evidence," while stressing that it is on record that: "there has been no breach of Ghana’s procurement laws or any other law in the processes leading to the purchase of the aircraft under reference."

It stressed that Mahama remains focused on engaging the people of Ghana on his plans to revitalise the economy to create more opportunities and decent well-paying jobs in a 24-hour economy for the youth and Ghanaians, hence will not be distracted.

It added that Mahama is poised to carry out far-reaching governance including anti-corruption and constitutional reforms to meet the aspirations and expectations of Ghanaians.

Fixing the Country Movement to picket

Pressure group, Fixing the Country Movement said it was still going ahead with the plan to picket at the office of John Mahama on Thursday, November 23, 2023, over the Airbus scandal.

Owusu Bempah who is a Convener of the #FixingTheCountry Movement' said investigating Mahama for the role he played in the Airbus deal forms part of the government fixing the country.

John Mahama Pulse Ghana

He indicated that the notice to Mahama of their intention to picket at his office urged him to avail himself for probing in order to clear the air on Airbus' corruption.

Background to Airbus

The said aircraft were purchased for the military when Mahama was the Vice-President and Chairman of both the Armed Forces Council and the Police Council.

Giving a background for the purchase of the two aircraft, Mahama said as Vice-President between January 7, 2009, and July 24, 2012, he was assigned responsibility for the Ghana Armed Forces Council and the Police Council by the late President John Evans Atta Mills, who retained the Chairmanship of the National Security Council.

Ghana bought three Military Airplanes – C295s – from Airbus. The nation received its first C295 in November 2011. The second aircraft was received in April 2012 and the third in November 2015.

The deals covering them were argued at the time to be in line with the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan of the Ghana Armed Forces.

All three purchases, approved by Ghana’s Parliament after heated disagreements on the floor, were roundly marketed by the government of the day as a drive to modernize Ghana’s Air Force.

On February 3, 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo referred the Airbus bribery scandal to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for immediate investigation.