“Sedina Tamakloe’s case was NPP textbook politics” – Edudzi Tameklo
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has dismissed the prosecution of former MASLOC Chief Executive Sedina Tamakloe Attionu as a calculated exercise in partisan retribution by the defunct New Patriotic Party administration.
He accused the NPP of pursuing an obsessive crusade to manufacture culpability against NDC appointees, even in the absence of verifiable misconduct.
"If the cost of the buses were inflated, what would be the basis for Mr Ofori-Atta to make the payment instead of abrogating the contract?" he asked on The KeyPoints on TV3.
Preceding Edudzi’s remarks, private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu insinuated that former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta may have been complicit in the financial improprieties alleged against Tamakloe.
"It is becoming clear that Ken Ofori-Atta may have had a hand in the alleged financial crimes committed by Sedina Tamakloe. Ofori-Atta paid for the buses," he said.
Kpebu asserted that public scrutiny will intensify as the appellate process unfolds.
"Citizens are watching how this Sedina Tamakloe issue plays out. The judgment will come out for greater scrutiny. It is beginning to look like Sedina has a case. Let all shapes of opinion be heard," he said on The Key Points on TV3 Saturday, June 13.
NPP Director of Communications Richard Ahiagbah countered that the NDC is orchestrating a deliberate effort to immunize Tamakloe from incarceration, pointing to the bail status of her co-accused.
"The NDC is not interested in getting Sedina Tamakloe jailed because her co-accused is currently on bail and seated at home. The NDC is simply protecting their people," he also said on The Key Points on TV3 Saturday June 13.
Ahiagbah further challenged the Mahama administration’s Operation Recover All Loots initiative, arguing it has devolved into a selective instrument targeting political opponents.
"NDC is not governing well. Oral includes everybody, but somehow they don't seem to understand that they are part. What they have done right from day one is to shield their people and to prosecute other people," he stressed.
Tamakloe-Attionu has petitioned the Court of Appeal to vacate her 2024 conviction and 10-year sentence, contending the charges were legally defective and violated Article 19(2)(d) of the Constitution, which mandates detailed disclosure of accusations.
“This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court… delivered on 16th April 2024,” the filing states, adding that the conviction should be set aside because of alleged procedural and evidentiary shortcomings during the trial.
Her defense disputes core prosecution claims, including a GH¢500,000 Obaatanpa Micro Finance transaction, arguing the state failed to prove dishonest appropriation beyond reasonable doubt. They also question the authenticity of a key acknowledgement letter and challenge liability for over GH¢1.8 million withdrawn for sensitization, citing the prosecution’s omission of critical witnesses.
On vehicle procurement, her lawyers maintain no payments were executed during her tenure, and that renegotiation and disbursement occurred in 2018, over a year after she vacated office.
The Court of Appeal will now adjudicate whether the conviction endures, merits retrial, or should be nullified.