Martin Amidu was set up to fail - Dr. Steve Manteaw

Chairman of the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas in a Facebook post wrote "Have you revised your notes? There goes all our hope of curbing corruption. The man was set up to fail."

Martin Amidu set up Pulse Ghana

The Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has resigned from his position three years after he was appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The former Attorney General wrote to the President and said his decision is to enable his appointing authority "to take steps to appoint a replacement to that position as required by law."

"This is to inform the public that I resigned from my position as the Special Prosecutor of the Office of the Special Prosecutor with immediate effect upon the submission of my letter of resignation with reference number OSP/2/AM/14 dated November 16, 2020, which was received at the Office of the President at 15:15 HRS this afternoon," he said in his letter.

He said the President of the Republic was interfering in the performance of his duties in relation to the risk of corruption and anti-corruption assessment on the controversial Agyapa Royalties Transaction.

Dr. Steve Manteaw Pulse Ghana

He alleged that the President attempted to convince him to include a response from the Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta in his report which he declined because "that would have compromised my independence as the Special Prosecutor."

In his assessment report on the Agyapa deal, Amidu said the Transaction Advisor involved in the deal were susceptible to "nepotism, cronyism, and favouritism".

According to him, Nana Addo has not been able to ensure his independence and freedom of action.

"The one condition upon which I accepted to be nominated as the Special Prosecutor when you invited me to your Office on 10th January 2018 was your firm promise to me that you will respect and ensure same by your Government for my independence and freedom of action as the Special Prosecutor," he stated.

He explained that although he thought he was exercising his mandate independently in relation to the controversial deal, the reactions he has received concerning the work make him convinced that he was not expected to exercise his independence as a Special Prosecutor and that makes his work insupportable.

"In undertaking the analysis of the risk of prevention of corruption and anti-corruption assessment I sincerely believed that I was executing an independent mandate under the Office of the Special Prosecutor, Act, 2017 (Act 959) and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (Operations) Regulations, 2018 (L. I. 2374).

"The reaction I received for daring to produce the Agyapa Royalties Limited Transactions anti-corruption report convinces me beyond any reasonable doubt that I was not intended to exercise any independence as the Special Prosecutor in the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and recovery of assets of corruption. My position as the Special Prosecutor has consequently become clearly untenable," Martin Amidu said in his resignation letter to the government.

Read Martin Amidu's resignation letter below: