Martin Amidu Criticizes Bawumia’s Vision, Labels It a Replication of Akufo-Addo’s Deceptive Style
Accra, [Feb 17, 2024] – Martin Amidu, Ghana’s former Special Prosecutor and the first occupant of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), has voiced his critique of Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia’s presidential aspirations, describing them as a mere replica of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s style and deceptive tactics.
In a detailed three-page letter dated February 15, 2024, Amidu responded to Vice President Bawumia’s February 7 lecture at the UPSA auditorium, where the vice president presented his much-hyped ‘Vision for Ghana’ speech.
Having thoroughly analyzed Bawumia’s vision, Amidu expressed his conviction that the vice president’s proposed plan lacked originality and was essentially a carbon copy of President Akufo-Addo’s rhetoric that secured electoral victories in 2016 and 2020.
“I have read Bawumia’s vision several times since I had time to do so after delivering my keynote address at the University for Development Studies on 8 February 2024, and he comes out to me like a copycat replica of the style and deceptive persuasiveness deployed by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in winning the 2016 presidential elections,” Amidu wrote.
Amidu highlighted that, despite the promises made during election campaigns, the Akufo-Addo-led government failed to fulfill commitments related to taxes, the utilization of natural resources for the benefit of ordinary Ghanaians, citizen participation without fear, and the unfulfilled pledge to combat corruption.
Contrary to speculations that Bawumia was distancing himself from Akufo-Addo through statements about scrapping certain taxes, Amidu disagreed, asserting that Bawumia’s vision was merely a repetition of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia team’s promises during the 2016 and 2020 elections.
“Bawumia’s vision is a repeat using a decoy to disguise a similar cajoling vision the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia team presented to the Ghanaian electorate at the 2016 elections,” Amidu emphasized. “It is no different in form and substance from the deceptive vision team Akufo-Addo/Bawumia presented even at the 2020 elections when economic situations were exceedingly difficult. These visions have always been founded upon promises to ameliorate the harsh tax conditions the private sector and ordinary Ghanaians are facing daily in the marketplace.”
