The Dean of the University of Ghana Law School, Prof Ernest Kofi Abotsi says that the best former President John Mahama could have done in the Airbus procurement deal was to distance himself from it because his brother was involved.

According to him, Samuel Forson Adams has his own life and business, and Mr Mahama could not have prevented him from bidding for a contract that falls within his business operations.

Speaking on JoyNews' Newsfile on August 10, he said that after the then Vice President realized that his blood relative had won the bid, the only thing he could have done was to distance himself from the negotiations.

 “The most important thing is if you have the relation of former president bidding for a state contract, the former president can not by law prohibit his brother from bidding for state contracts. What the former president can do of course is to do his possible best to distance himself from the transaction as much as he could,” he told host, Samson Lardy Anyenini.

His comments come on the back of the Director of Legal Affairs for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako, claiming that former President John Dramani Mahama and his brother's involvement in the Airbus deal constitutes a conflict of interest.

• Read also: Airbus scandal: There is a strong basis for conflict of interest, it should be re-examined – Gary Nimako

According to him, then-Vice President Mahama's decision to close a government procurement deal with a company that engages his brother as an agent is enough to suggest a conflict of interest and should be investigated by relevant authorities.

But Prof Abotsi said there was very little Mr Mahama could have done since very few companies dealt with airplane spare parts.