A Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Ransford Gyampo says that due process cannot be upheld if President Akufo-Addo grants clearance to individuals who are supposed to undergo formal investigations.

Prof Gyampo said that the president's expression of trust in Cecilia Dapaah, before she had undergone any formal investigation, made it clear that the case was unlikely to reach a proper conclusion.

Speaking at the commissioning of 'The Law House' project on June 10, President Akufo-Addo noted that combating corruption has been the cornerstone of his administration.

According to him, corruption thrives in environments where it can be concealed, and that access to information is crucial to fighting corruption.

He noted that to address this, his government ensured the passage of the Right to Information Act (RTI) 2019, ACT 989, during its first term.

Also at the commissioning, the President without making any direct comment on the current controversy in the ongoing ambulance procurement trial in which a High Court Judge has advised the Attorney General Mr Godfred Dame to recuse himself, the president hailed Mr Dame as one of the best products shaped by his law firm, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh & Co. where Mr Dame received his professional legal practice.

Commenting on the issue on JoyNews’ AM show however, Prof Gyampo counselled that the President cannot stampede the process behind the scenes "and publicly come and tell us that you believe in due process.

"He was the one who said that he was going to use the Anas principle in fighting corruption, even though I disagree with that principle. What is the state of his usage of that principle in the fight against corruption?"

He maintained that President Akufo-Addo could make the claims he made because he was at home with his 'captured' audience and that he could not have made such claims to an assembly of critical minds.

“So, please, I think that, like I said, he was given a flowery speech to go and read to a certain audience that I have described as ‘sycophantic’ and he knew that well, these guys would end up even applauding him. That is why he went to do that, but he could not have read this statement to you guys in the media, he wouldn't have done that to an assemblage of critical minds, he wouldn't have done that in the midst of academics. He wouldn't have done that.”

 He added that comparing administrations on their efforts to fight corruption creates confusion among Ghanaians about which leaders have effectively addressed corruption and which have not.

“We know what is happening. For this particular regime, they are telling us that in spite of all the scandals, everybody is okay. No problem. I think at the end of the day, the good people of Ghana are watching, and they know what the reality of the situation is,” he noted.