He accused the NDC of monsterizing Mr Amidu, who has now been sworn-in as the nation's first special prosecutor.
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According to him, the Mills and Mahama administration could have utilized Mr Amidu but failed to do so.
He, however, praised President Akufo-Addo for appointing Mr Amidu to as the special prosecutor although he is from a different political party.
He made the comments at the final funeral rites of the late mathematician Professor Francis Allotey minutes before Amidu's swearing in as the special prosecutor on Friday.
He said: “To think we could have utilized somebody like Martin Amidu many years ago; from Professor Mills to our friend John Mahama, instead, we avoided him. We monsterized him the way we do with people like me or my wife.”
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"And then it takes somebody, Nana Akufo-Addo, from a party completely opposed to us to come and appoint him not as a minister of state but as the chief prosecutor. We ought to give him credit."
Mr Rawlings had described Mr Amidu as "fearless anti-corruption crusader" when he was nominated for the special prosecutor job.