What are you hiding? — Ablakwa questions Afenyo Markin, NPP leaders' fear of ORAL

North Tongu MP and chairman of President Mahama’s five-member anti-corruption investigative committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has fired back at critics of Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), asserting that only those with something to hide should be worried about the initiative.

Ablakwa’s comments come in reaction to former Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who recently criticized ORAL, describing it as unconstitutional, unnecessary, and a potential tool for political harassment.

Afenyo-Markin argued during his farewell address to the 8th Parliament that the committee could destabilize governance by creating fear and undermining existing anti-corruption institutions.

“We don’t need any so-called ORAL. We have institutions of state, and however unhappy we are with their work, we must support them to do their job. This committee is nothing but a wild goose chase, a needless initiative likely driven by vendetta,” Afenyo-Markin said.

In a fiery rebuttal, Ablakwa dismissed Afenyo-Markin’s concerns as unfounded and suggested that the apprehension coming from some New Patriotic Party (NPP) leaders raises suspicions about their activities in office.

“If you haven’t looted Ghanaian resources or taken anything that belongs to the people—lands, forest reserves, river bodies, hotels, cars, or money—you have nothing to fear from ORAL,” Ablakwa stated during an interview with GHOne TV.

He added, “Why are prominent NPP figures like Obiri Boahen and Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe welcoming ORAL? Even Hon. Ennin, a former MP for Obuasi East, has reached out to support us. Those who have not engaged in kleptocracy are calm. But Afenyo-Markin is ranting, looking restless and frightened. What is he hiding? Why is he so scared?”

Ablakwa emphasized that the committee’s sole objective is to recover stolen state resources and assured the public that innocent individuals would not be unfairly targeted.