Martin Amidu Disrespected Prez Mills Of Blessed Memory - Ade Coker

Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the ruling National Democratic Congress, Ade Coker has commended former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Martin Amidu, for his perseverance which led to the Supreme Court ruling in his favour in the Waterville Holdings Ltd case. The Supreme Court on Friday ordered construction firm Waterville Holdings to refund all sums paid it in the controversial GH¢51 million judgment debt case to the Government of Ghana. The decision followed a suit by Martin Amidu against the company and two others, businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome and Austro-Invest Limited to recover huge sums he said were illegally paid to the respondents. Austro-Invest was later struck out of the suit following a revelation that the company was liquidated in Switzerland on July 26, 2011. Waterville Holdings, one of the companies which spearheaded the construction of some stadia in Ghana ahead of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, was paid the award after dragging the Government of Ghana to Court in 2009. In a unanimous decision by a nine-member Bench presided over by Justice Professor Date-Baah, the Court ruled that Waterville Holdings was not deserving of the judgment award. The court held that the payments involved contracts that required parliamentary approval; a process it said was side-stepped and therefore rendered the contract unconstitutional. The court also indicted lawyers for Waterville and Alfred Agbesi Woyome for failing to do due diligence in their clients’ cases and consequently referred the conduct of the lawyers to the General Legal Council for disciplinary action. Speaking on Peace FM on Wednesday, the NDC guru expressed gratitude to Martin Amidu and also warned Ghanaians including political figures to depoliticize the issue. “We must express our gratitude to Martin Amidu that regardless of all the vilification he went through, he stood firm and has claimed the money for Ghana. Whatever the situation, we must award him.” “This government and Professor Mills’ government did not go to sleep when this evidence was first made available…Officials responsible, some were made to resign. So, let us all come together and eliminate the politics,” he emphasized. He however disputed assertions that he (Martin Amidu) did not offend the Mills-led government to warrant his sanction. He insisted that the NDC government did not sideline him to fight alone and that his resignation as Attorney General under the Mills’ administration was as a result of disrespect for the government. “He disrespected President John Evans Atta Mills of blessed memory,” Ade Coker said.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana