A social commentator, Yaw Asani Tano, has strongly criticized former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, saying he should be jailed for supervising what he described as “the most corrupt era in Ghana’s democratic history.”
Speaking during a panel discussion on UTV’s Morning Show, monitored by Preko News.com, Mr. Tano said President Akufo-Addo failed to take action on several corruption scandals that happened during his time in office.
> “Akufo-Addo saw many corruption cases happening under his leadership and did nothing. He didn’t even reshuffle his ministers when things were clearly going wrong,” he stated.
SML Scandal Under Akufo-Addo’s Watch
Yaw Asani Tano mentioned the Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) case as one of the major examples of corruption that occurred under Akufo-Addo’s government.
The SML case involves a controversial contract between SML Ghana Limited, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). The deal was meant to help the GRA monitor revenue from oil and petroleum products, but reports from investigations, including one by the Fourth Estate, revealed that SML received hundreds of millions of Ghana cedis for work that was either duplicated or not properly verified.
According to the reports, SML was allegedly paid over ¢1 billion for services already being done by other government agencies, raising serious questions about transparency and value for money.
Despite public outrage and calls for accountability, Mr. Tano argued that President Akufo-Addo did not take any decisive action against officials involved in the deal, instead protecting them from scrutiny.
> “When the SML scandal came up, what did Nana Addo do? He just asked for a so-called investigation and later brushed everything aside. That’s not leadership,” he said.
Chairman Wontumi and the Galamsey Menace
Mr. Tano also mentioned Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman, accusing him of engaging in illegal mining (galamsey) activities during Akufo-Addo’s presidency.
He alleged that despite several reports and videos linking Chairman Wontumi to illegal mining operations, the former President looked on and took no action.
> “Everybody saw what was happening. Wontumi’s name came up in galamsey issues, yet Nana Addo pretended not to see it. That’s why illegal mining destroyed our rivers under his rule,” Mr. Tano added.
Failure to Reshuffle and Act on Corruption
Yaw Asani Tano further criticized Akufo-Addo for his refusal to reshuffle his ministers, even when many were accused of corruption, negligence, and poor performance.
> “He said he was happy with his ministers, but look at the results — collapsed banks, galamsey, SML, and so many scandals. How can you be happy with such people?” he questioned.
Public Reactions and Calls for Accountability
Mr. Tano’s comments have sparked renewed debate on social media, with some Ghanaians agreeing that the former President failed to fight corruption effectively, while others believe such comments are politically motivated.
Many citizens continue to demand that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and other anti-corruption bodies reopen investigations into high-profile cases that emerged under the previous administration.
Yaw Asani Tano concluded by saying that the only way Ghana will progress is when leaders are held accountable for their actions, regardless of their political party.
“We can’t continue allowing leaders to walk free after mismanaging our country. Nana Addo should answer for the corruption that went on under his watch,” he said.
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