Ford Gift Petitioner Rubbishes Mahama's Response To CHRAJ

One of the petitioners in the Ford gift scandal against President John Mahama says the president's admission that he accepted a gift of that value is enough for the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to take action against him.

Kofi Asamoah, General Secretary of the Progressive People's Party is confident the president, if for nothing at all, will be found liable for conflict of interest in line with Article 284 which states: “A public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts or is likely to conflict with the performance of the functions of his office.”

His comments come a day after the president responded to CHRAJ's preliminary investigation into the scandal.

The president pleaded his innocence in what some has been referred to as the Ford bribery scandal. The president through his lawyer, Tony Lithur, told CHRAJ the petitions against his client are baseless in law and in fact.

He argued that his client did not solicit any gift from the Burkinabe contractor who had won a contract legitimately from the government of Ghana.

"My client states, therefore, that while it may have been Mr Kanazoe’s intention to donate the vehicle to him as a personal gift, neither he nor his office regarded or treated it as such.

“Since its delivery to the Presidency, therefore, the vehicle has always been treated as state property and, as can be seen from the facts stated herein above, my client’s conduct at all material times was consistent with such treatment,” he said.