Flagstaff House Confident Of Prez Mahama�s Innocence In Ford Saga

Presidential staffers have stated they are confident President John Dramani Mahama will be exonerated in the on-going investigations by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) into the Ford Expedition gift saga.

Deputy Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Jonny Osei Kofi, said CHRAJ’s findings will prove what the Ghanaian leader has been trumpeting that he is innocent of the charge.

“We are confident CHRJ’s investigation will come to nothing,” he said.

President John Mahama has been marred in a controversial scandal following findings of Joynews’ Manasseh Azure Awuni investigation in which it was established that the Ghanaian leader was gifted a Ford Expedition vehicle by Burkinabe contractor, Oumarou Djibril Kanazoe valued at $100,000.

The contractor was later to receive two juicy contracts from the Ghana government. He was the contractor behind the controversial $650,000 Ghana Embassy wall in Burkina Faso which was flagged by the Auditor General and the Dodo-Pepeso-Nkwanta section of the most expensive road project in the country, Eastern Corridor Road.

The government admitted the President received the gift but explained the vehicle has been added to the fleet of cars at the Presidency.

Avowed critics of the government and anti-graft campaigners have slammed the President over what they say is his disregard for CHRAJ’s guidelines on conflict of interest and other anti-corruption guidelines in the country.

Addressing clergymen in Accra, President Mahama used the opportunity to declare his innocence saying he has a dislike for American cars.

“I use Japanese cars [and] Toyota is my car,” he said.

Speaking to Joynews, Mr Osei Kofi said the petitions are moves to distract the president from focusing on the governance of the country.

“We don’t mind at all. We expect so many things. Let me say that those who are making these allegations know why they are making them,” he said.

He claimed peddlers of the allegation are not interested in objectively knowing the truth but are motivated by selfishness.

“It is not a question of somebody has done something wrong but let’s put something in the public domain,” he said.

He indicated they are expecting more of the allegations in the coming days, noting “It’s a routine thing.”

“Let them ask and let them check. We are expecting more of these things to come,” he said.