Back To Sender: Akufo Addo Deflects ”Clearing Agent” Tag

At the 2023 Conference of the Ghana Bar Association held in Cape Coast, Central Region, President Akufo Addo deflected the tag ”clearing agent” placed on him by critics of his government, saying the cap fits the political Pharisees themselves.

”Clearing agents” are actors within shipping lines who take delivery of shipped goods on behalf of actual clients or importers. Opposition elements in the body politic have been drawing analogies between the president and clearing agents, saying the president had turned a blind eye to corruption allegations against his appointees, and absolving them without testing the law.

The President in a riposte, tackled former President John Mahama on recent comments that the governing New Patriotic Party had packed the bench with apologists to suit the whims and caprices of the party. As a corollary, the former Ghanaian leader alerted lawyers in his party, the National Democratic Congress to position themselves for equalization, should the party come to power.

President Akufo Addo described that view as a bad call dangerous for governance. He catalogued cases his government had brought against its own and opposition members as evidence of its determination to bring those who fall foul of the law to book, without fear or favor.

He said, his government will continue to respect the rule of law, human rights, and separation of powers drawing inspiration from the laws of natural justice and the spirit of the 1992 constitution. ”I will not set aside the due processes of the law no matter how much opprobrium that incurs,” the president firmly stated.