The Deputy General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Haruna Mohammed, has questioned the decision by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to investigate alleged vote buying in the Ayawaso East parliamentary primary.

Speaking on The Probe on Sunday, Haruna Mohammed argued that the OSP, as a state-funded body established to address corruption in public institutions and state-related activities, has no authority to investigate private individuals or internal party elections.

“See the Special Prosecutor also issuing a statement, a populist statement, a man who has not been able to prosecute even a single case, he is there doing populist imperial tactics. The OSP is talking too much,” he said.

He further criticised the OSP’s statement announcing the probe, describing it as weak and legally flawed.

“That was a very weak letter, and he should have known that some of these things that he has carried in the letter would not even give the grounds on which he wants to investigate. Something happened in Ayawaso East, and you went to put in the NPP. That is unnecessary. The very foundations of the OSP have failed,” he added.

The OSP had earlier announced plans to investigate candidates involved in the primary following allegations of vote buying, a move Haruna Mohammed described as exceeding the office’s legal mandate.

“None of the NPP members who contested for that (Ayawaso East) is holding any public office. I am telling you that the people are private individuals; none of them works for the state. The OSP was not set up to go and investigate private citizens; it is a state-sponsored organisation, and it is important for him to investigate what happens to the state,” he argued.

Read more: OSP probes NPP Presidential, NDC Ayawaso East parliamentary primaries over vote buying allegations