A former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Martin K. Amidu, has questioned the current Deputy Attorney General, Hon. Ebo Barton Oduro’s actions in the authorisation of payment of some judgement debts in his latest statement to the media. 

In a statement released Thursday, the former Attorney General said “Where the Attorney-General, vested with the Constitutional authority to make the decision whether to appeal further or not, is not allowed to make that decision and payment is unconstitutionally ordered by subordinates the Republic could be paying more money than it should have paid if the constitutional authority for the exercise of that power had been permitted to make the final decision whether or not to appeal up to the Supreme Court.”

Below is Mr. Amidu’s introductory statement to the media before releasing Hon. Oduro’s “unauthorised” letter.


UNAUTHORIZED LETTER BY THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY-GENERAL TO THE MINSTER FOR FINANCE TO PAY INTEREST ON JUDGMENT DEBT OF GH¢4,159,010.38 TO AFRICAN AUTOMOBILE LIMITED IN SEPTEMBER 2011: BY MARTIN A. B. K. AMIDU

I have had to think hard and long before deciding to publish my letter below dated 9th July 2012 addressed to the Auditor-General and copied to the other addressee on the above matter which concerns interest payments to the topical African Automobile Limited. All the letters were posted by EMS on 10thJuly 2012 at Legon Post office. I have come to the considered conclusion that it is better for me to make this letter public myself than to wait for any of addressee to leak it to the public and put a spin on it in view of the culture of political equalization that has taken hold of the NDC and the NPP in place of treating politics as a market place for the exchange of rational ideas that gives the electorate a reasonable choice of which political party is better fit to govern at the next elections.

I attached the unauthorized letter signed by Hon. Ebo Barton Oduro, MP, the Deputy Attorney-General, allegedly on my behalf only to the Auditor-General and two other addressees who would not have received copies of his original letter. I do not attach a copy of his letter No. D45/SF.59/08 to this Statement because it will serve no useful purpose to the end result I desire – to ensure that all authorizations for payment of settlements of debts, judgment debts or interest on judgment debts between 21st January 2011 and 19th January 2012 when I was the Attorney-General were done under the authority conferred on me as the Attorney-General under Article 88 of the Constitution for the purposes of my having to take professional responsibility for them. 

As I demonstrated with the Supreme Court decision of 6th June 2012 in the case of African Automobile Limited Vs. The Attorney-General in my Statement on “Galloper II Vehicles, Settlements, and the Hallowed Traditions of the Office of the Attorney-General” published on 10th July 2012; even interests on judgment debts can be pursued up to the Supreme Court and possibly reduced in favour of the Republic of Ghana. Where the Attorney-General, vested with the Constitutional authority to make the decision whether to appeal further or not, is not allowed to make that decision and payment is unconstitutionally ordered by subordinates the Republic could be paying more money than it should have paid if the constitutional authority for the exercise of that power had been permitted to make the final decision whether or not to appeal up to the Supreme Court.