Co-Chair of Citizens Movement Against Corruption, Edem Senanu has reacted to President Akufo-Addo’s decision to officially retire former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo.

Speaking on Joy Prime’s Beyond the Headlines Thursday, Mr Senanu could not hold back his tears when concluding his position on the matter.

For him, individuals like Mr Domelevo must be praised and not chased out of office like the President has just done.

“The teeming masses of Ghanaians would like to see the right thing done; men and women of faith and conscience who consider matters of integrity, hard work, and respect are crucial, want to salute him. Perhaps we will also have a Daniel Yaw Domelevo sooner than later.

“We may not find tangible ways to be able to express our appreciation to what he has done to demonstrate that we can rise above [corruption]. He has demonstrated that we can have men, irrespective of what is thrown at them are willing to do what is right.

"[Breaks down into tears]. I am really emotional. Daniel, I am done,” he told the host of Prime Morning, Daniel Dadzie.

The Auditor-General returned to work on March 3, after his 167 days mandatory leave.

The embattled anti-corruption crusader, whose retirement age is being challenged by the Audit Service Board, ended the leave he started on July 1, 2020, on Tuesday, March 2. 

While social media had been buzzing in anticipation of his return, things took an interesting turn on Tuesday when the Audit Service Board announced that the Auditor- General is deemed to have retired in June 2020 due to some anomalies in his personal records.

In a series of letters between the Chairman of the Audit Service Board, Prof. Edward Dua Agyeman and Mr Domelevo, the latter was asked to explain these anomalies or have some actions taken against him.

The Board alleged that records at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) provided by the Auditor-General indicated that his date of birth was 1960 when he joined the scheme on October 1, 1978.

Again the record also showed that the hometown of Mr. Domelevo is Agbetofe in Togo; making him non-Ghanaian but on October 25, 1993, some changes were made.

While the date of birth changed to June 1, 1961, the hometown of the Auditor-General was now Ada in the Greater Accra Region.

That notwithstanding, Mr Senanu noted that the former Auditor General was denied a fair hearing.

According to him, allegations made by the Board of the Audit Service were speculations and needed more investigations.

“Until you have made a substantive case against the individual, you cannot be telling the individual to suffer the consequences of something which is still as it were speculation.

“I mean 25 years ago, what was Mr Yao Domelevo going to gain by changing his date of birth; mind you the Yao in his name which he has kept from primary couldn’t not have fallen on a June 1, 1960,” he argued.