Duffuor & Barton Odro have to go too

Last week, the Office of the President officially announced the dismissal of Mr. Martin Amidu, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. Mr. Amidu, we are told, had been insolent when he met President John Evans Atta Mills at the Castle, nearly two weeks ago.

The Chronicle can report that Mr. Amidu engaged the President in an animated discussion that degenerated into a shouting match at the Castle. Apparently, the former Attorney-General was disappointed by the way the Castle was handling the explosive Woyome affair. Mr. Woyome, we are told, was peeved by the naked attempt by officialdom to plead innocence, when the deal was apparently brokered with the full knowledge of all that matter in this administration.

The resignation per se, is no news. Her departure from the moribund administration of the former University don has been expected the moment it became public knowledge that she had negotiated with the bankroller of the NDC, instead of defending the spurious suit brought by Woyome, and doling out the whopping amount virtually on a silver platter.

What is of importance in the new development is that it puts other personalities who have compromised their positions on the matter, and who are still clinging onto their positions, on notice, to quit.

The Chronicle believes the continued presence of Mr. Ebo Barton Odro, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, is untenable, given his continued submission that the state has a bad case, and that it was not possible to defend the state against the Woyome scandal.

The Chronicle is inviting Mr. Barton-Odro to advise himself before the inevitable happens. The President may even decide to retain him at the next Cabinet reshuffle. That may only be a temporary reprieve. He shot himself in the foot when he came public and stated that the state had a bad case.

If the case is that bad, why did he not advise Mr. Martin Amidu to stay off his writ, demanding the return of every pesewa Woyome collected from the state in that scandal. The Chronicle believes Mr. Barton-Odro is an example of the bad case that this administration has been peddling around.

Another top official whose position is under threat is Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor. It was under the Finance Minister's watch that the huge amount of state cash was parcelled and handed over to the NDC bankroller.

As Finance Minister, Dr. Duffuor's prime duty is to safeguard state money. By playing a lead road in doling out state money, the Honourable Minister has a lot to answer for.

The Chronicle is of the view that the Finance Minister has a duty to himself and the people of Ghana to leave the scene for a proper investigation to be conducted into his role in the whole sordid affair.

This affair has the potential of pulling a lot of heavyweights in this administration into political oblivion.