BNI Report On BOST Sets A Dangerous Precedent - Atik

The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and National Security may have cleared the Managing Director of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport Company (BOST), Alfred Obeng of any act of wrongdoing in the controversial sale of 5 million litres of off-spec fuel, but several Ghanaians have raised eyebrows over the report.

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has questioned the BNI report wondering how and why they cleared the BOST MD while the Energy Minister had earlier indicated to set up an 8-member Committee to investigate the issues.

The Ministerial Committee is made up of representatives of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) among others, and tasked to critically delve into the BOST contaminated fuel sale to establish the truth.

Speaking on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo', the General Secretary of the People's National Convention (PNC) Atik Mohammed stressed that the BNI report has set a "dangerous" precedent in the country.

He wondered why the BNI hurriedly absolved the BOST MD, saying the right thing they should have done is to have sent their report through their representative on the Ministerial Committee and waited for the Committee to finish their thorough investigations on the issue.

To Atik Mohammed, he smells something fishy about the report, stating emphatically that the "report of a BNI investigation can take precedence over a ministerial Committee is a dangerous precedent. I feel that it’s absolutely a blow to good governance in this country. It’s a blow to our fight against corruption in this country.”

“We have lost the opportunity to know indeed the truth in these transactions. And in the absence of the Right to Information Act, we may never know the truth and this weakens the fight against corruption," he added.

He further appealed to President Nana Akufo-Addo to step up his fight against corruption, saying "His Excellency the President is one person I have faith in but it appears, successively, I am getting the feeling that he needs to up the game especially in the area of corruption and so forth. What’s happened has discouraged anti-corruption crusaders. It doesn’t help our resolve to make sure that people do not commit acts of corruption and profit from same.”