The Minority in Parliament has urged former appointees of the Akufo-Addo-led administration not to honour invitations from the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) Committee.
The Committee, they said, lacks the legal mandate to investigate corruption-related offences.
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, the Minority expressed concerns about the legitimacy and intentions of ORAL.
They described the committee as a politically motivated entity formed to persecute former New Patriotic Party (NPP) government officials.
Member of Parliament for Suame, Hon. John Darko, who spoke on the matter emphasized that legally mandated institutions already exist to handle corruption investigations, making ORAL redundant.
“What the former government officials have done is to acquire properties that legally they could acquire. No illegality has taken place,” he stated, defending the acquisition of properties by former appointees.
The Minority further questioned the motives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), claiming that constitutionally established bodies such as the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), and the Office of the Special Prosecutor already serve the purpose of investigating alleged wrongdoing.
“There are constitutionally established bodies that can investigate any so-called misdeeds of the government. What are they doing?” Hon. Darko asked, expressing dissatisfaction with ORAL’s activities, which he said include entering homes, seizing vehicles, and reclaiming lands allegedly acquired unlawfully.
He also accused members of the NDC of acquiring government lands in affluent areas like Cantonments and Tse-Addo, describing it as a selective approach to investigations.
“The NDC Executives, Okudzeto Ablakwa and co, they live in the Cantonments, they live in the Airports, they live in the Tse-Addos—lands which were government lands that they bought many years ago,” he alleged.
The Minority criticized the Attorney-General-designate, Dr. Dominic Ayine, for justifying the work of ORAL, arguing that it undermines the functions of legally established investigative institutions.
“We want the people of Ghana to know that no serious country would entertain anything such as this. So if you are a former government official and are invited by this so-called ORAL, our advice to you, from the Minority, is to boycott any invitation from the ORAL team,” Hon. Darko stressed.