Dr. Ahmed Jinapor says former Attorney General Martin Amidu who has been vetted to head the country’s Office of the Special Prosecutor does not know everything as he has portrayed himself to the people of Ghana.
In his view, Mr. Amidu who was subjected to a rigorous seven-hour vetting Tuesday by the Appointment’s Committee of Parliament, is egoistic.
Although he admitted Mr. Amidu is a confident man who has a pedigree of knowledge in law coupled with extensive experience, he advised him not take his ego to his new job if his nomination is approved by parliament.
“I’d wish he [Amidu] let go a little bit of his ego; he’s overly egoistic, there’s no doubt about it. He thinks that he knows all but you can’t know everything,” he said on TV3’s New Day magazine show Thursday during the newspaper review segment.
When asked by host Bright Nana Amfoh whether he’d want the Mr Amidu to be a servant he responded affirmatively, adding “I think he’s been a servant and his track record is impressive”.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on January 11, 2018 announced Mr. Amidu as his nominee for the office of the special prosecutor. His nomination came less than 10 days after the president assented to the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill, together with four other bills.
In the President’s view, Mr. Amidu has “the requisite integrity, competence, courage and independence of character to discharge effectively the responsibilities of this new office”.
Amidu up to the task but…
Following from his vetting, some critics have among others described Mr. Amidu as being temperamental but admitted he could do the job as the Special Prosecutor.
Commenting on the posturing and character of Mr. Amidu, Dr. Jinapor who is the Head of Department, Early Childhood Education at the University of Education, Winneba, said almost everyone who watched the vetting probably concluded Mr Amidu was up to the task.
He advised that inasmuch as vetting is to test the knowledge of an individual within the spectrum of the post being vetted for, it’s important to also take into account the demeanor of the individual.
Dr. Jinapor disagreed with some assertions by Mr. Amidu at the vetting, particularly the statement by Mr. Amidu that former Attorney General Dr. Obed Asamoah was not his boss at a time that he (Amidu) was the deputy Attorney General.
Mr. Amidu had suggested to the Committee that just as Dr. Asamoah was called to the bar, so was he, and that, he did all the work required of him independent of Dr. Asamoah, hence cannot be right for anyone to say Dr. Asamoah was his boss.
Flowing form Mr. Amidu’s assertion, Dr. Jinapor wondered how Mr. Amidu would view the current Attorney General, Ms. Gloria Akuffo, from who he suggested, the Special Prosecutor would derive his authority from.
“If Obed Asamoah was not his boss [then], who is the current Attorney General to him? So how does Mr. Amidu see Gloria Akuffo? He works under her by the nature of his job…How does he see his Excellency the president? It’s quite a little bit worrying,” Dr. Jinapor wondered.
He said if approved, the nominee needs to understand and appreciate that he has found himself in a new position, which he said, is quite different from the number of positions Mr. Amidu has held.
Dr. Jinapor argued that the posturing and attitude of Mr. Amidu, if not checked, could lead to insubordination
“When you have an individual of that nature, if you’re not careful it might lead to what? Insubordination and I think that there are remnants of that from his past,” he stated.
He added: “…that is why I’m tempted to believe he’s had a number of challenges during his career,”
He premised his argument on the fact that Mr. Amidu was chosen by the late Prof. John Evans Atta-Mills for the second time as the NDC running mate have had that privilege in 2000.
In his estimation, Mr. Amidu was sidestepped and not nominated for the second time because something was wrong with him “so it tells you that there was something wrong somewhere”
Again, he said when Amidu was made the Attorney General under the Pro. Atta-Mills administration, he had a problem with Prof Mills, stating “notwithstanding what explanation is being given (at his vetting) definitely there was a problem, whether he was fired, whether he resigned, there was a problem.
“I don’t want it to become repetitive!” he added.
Notwithstanding, he said, Ghanaians are not interested in his character but “our interest is in his performance”
He explained that the discussions about the character and posturing of Mr. Amidu thus far are aimed at making sure he becomes a better person saying “We want him to be a good and a better person.
“The onus also lies on the president to give him proper orientation because I believe that the success or failure of this office is going to be tied to his Excellency the president because that is his legacy,” he said.
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