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The Minority Caucus in Parliament (NPP MPs) has called on former appointees of the Akufo-Addo administration to boycott invitations from President Mahama’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) committee.
The caucus contends that the committee is unconstitutional and duplicates the roles of existing anti-corruption institutions in the country.
Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, 15th January, MP John Darko argued that the ORAL committee's activities amount to harassment and a witch-hunt targeting former appointees who have legitimately acquired properties.
The advice to you from the Minority is to boycott any invitation from the ORAL team. We are not going to be part of it because we believe that there are constitutionally established bodies that can investigate any so-called wrongdoing of the government.
He criticised the committee’s methods, questioning:
What are they doing? What they are doing is going around disturbing people, entering homes, seizing vehicles, and, more or less, taking over land from individuals who have genuinely purchased it.
What the former government officials have done is acquire properties that needed to be acquired. No illegality has taken place.
The MP further criticised the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice-designate, Dr Dominic Ayine, for defending the mandate of the ORAL team during his vetting on 13th January. He argued:
As one would have expected, a law professor like Dr Ayine would have condemned it. But rather, he justified it. His justification is now rendering the Police CID, EOCO, the Special Prosecutor, and other constitutionally established bodies redundant.
ORAL Committee Membership
The five-member ORAL team was appointed by President Mahama on 18th December 2024, ahead of his official inauguration. The team is tasked with gathering information on suspected corruption cases in preparation for the implementation of ORAL.
The committee is chaired by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu, and includes former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo, retired Commissioner of Police Nathaniel Kofi Boakye, private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu, and investigative journalist Raymond Archer.