According to the President, it was clear in the timing and manner in which Domelevo was appointed just a few days to Mahama’s exit from office after losing the 2016 presidential election that the Auditor-General was planted in the office he occupied to pursue an agenda against the NPP government.
Mr. Akufo-Addo alluded to the fact that Dr. Felix Kwame Aveh was the Auditor General that former President Mahama intended to appoint if he had won the election of December 7, 2016, but changed his mind, all in a bid to “pursue an agenda”.
In a 21-page epistle to Civil Society on Friday, March 19, he cited a letter written by the then Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah to the Council of State which had earlier approved Dr. Felix Kwame Aveh, to explain why Mr. Mahama decided to settle on Domelevo rather.
“After losing the election, it became necessary for former President Mahama to change his nomination for Auditor General, with the sole aim of saddling the then-President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo, with an Auditor General whose allegiance was to former President Mahama, instead of the nation.
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“A reasonable and objective conclusion was that having lost his mandate to govern, former President Mahama appointed Mr. Domelevo to the office, knowing very well that President Akufo-Addo would be sworn into office in a few days, to pursue a particular agenda,” the release read in part.
“Stranger still is the fact that Mr. Domelevo’s appointment process was initiated on 13th December 2016, a few days after this emphatic rejection. The appointment process for Mr. Domelevo was rushed through the Council of State to enable former President Mahama to appoint Mr. Domelevvo before leaving office,” it added.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo asked the former Auditor-General to go home since, per his age, he has passed the compulsory retirement age of 60.
A letter signed by the secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, on March 3, 2021, said: "The attention of the President of the Republic has been drawn to records and documents made available to this Office by the Audit Service, that indicate that your date of birth is 1st June 1960 and that in accordance with article 199 (1) of the Constitution, your date of retirement as Auditor-General was 1st June 2020."
It added: "Based on this information, the President is of the view that you have formally left office."
Domelevo reported to work at the Audit Service headquarters in Accra on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at 8:20 am despite the Audit Service Board declaring him retired.
He resumed work after his forced 167-day leave ended on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.
The President expressed appreciation to Yaw Domelevo for his service and indicated that a substantive replacement for him will soon be announced while the Deputy Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu continues to work as the acting Auditor General.