O.B. Amoah Arrested Over Woyome Saga

Mr O. B. Amoah

Former Deputy Education and Sports Minister O. B. Amoah has been arrested by the police for questioning in connection with the controversial GH¢51 million judgment debt award to businessman Alfred Woyome.

He faces the charges of corruption and willfully causing financial loss to the state, his lawyer has told Myjoyonline.com.

Sources close to the former deputy minister, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam-Aburi constituency in the Eastern Region, say he was picked up from his Parakuo Estates residence, Accra, by about four policemen and driven to the Police Headquarters in Accra.

He was deputy sports minister in the erstwhile Kufuor administration when contracts awarded for the construction of stadia ahead of the CAN 2008 tournament were canceled and re-awarded.

Mr Amoah is reported to have instructed construction firm Waterville Holdings to move to site ahead of a formal contract for the rehabilitation of the Accra, Kumasi and Elwak sports stadia for CAN 2008.

It has subsequently been explained that a Memorandum of Understanding between Waterville and the Government of Ghana formed the basis for his letter.

Myjoyonline.com's security sources say O.B. Amoah is believed to have cashed GHS75,000 cheque from a bank account of Alfred Woyome, which was recently frozen by the Economic and Organised Crimes Office which investigated the case.

He is the fifth person to be arrested in connection with the matter.

Mr Woyome and three others, Chief State Attorney, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh and his wife Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh and Mr. Paul Asimenu, a Director at the Legal Department of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning are currently facing six charges.

It is unclear if the police action is based on the investigations and subsequent interim report, but O.B. Amoah and some other members of the erstwhile Kufuor administration including then substantive Education and Sports Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo, CAN 2008 Organising Committee chairman, Dr. Kofi Amoah went to court to restrain the EOCO from investigating the matter because the EOCO's action was unlawful and unjustified.

The EOCO interim report said: “Mr. O.B. Amoah was the Deputy Minister who gave the green light for Waterville to proceed to site and start work at the time the contract had not been approved by Parliament.”

Source: myjoyonline