Former Attorney General backs calls by Dormaahene to abort Quayson’s case for the good of NPP

A renowned lawyer cum a politician and a leading figure of the governing New Patriotic Party, Mr Ayikoi Otoo, has backed calls by the President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs and a High Court judge, for the Attorney General of Ghana, to discontinue the case between the State and James Gyakye Quayson with immediate effect.

The Dormaahene, Osagyefo Oseadeyo Dr Agyemang Badu ||, made this appeal to the President of Ghana through the Attorney General, to take the necessary steps to abort the case of perjury against the newly elected Member of Parliament for Assin North, which is pending before a High Court in Accra.

”As a matter of urgency, I am appealing to the President, the Attorney General, the President of the Republic, if has any role to play, that trial should be aborted: the Attorney General, as a matter of urgency, file a nolle prosequi to end that particular decision” the High Court judge made this appeal as the Chairman for the fourth series of the Regional Commemorative lectures for the 10th Anniversary for the late former President of Ghana, John Evans Atta Mills in Sunyani on Saturday, 1st July, 2023 at the Sunyani Technical University.

Commenting on this call by Dormaahene in an interview on Eye Witness news on Citi 97.1 Fm in Accra and monitored by Masemtvgh.com, the former Attorney General under the Kuffour administration welcomed the call by the High Court judge and said that it will be in the interest of his own party, the NPP, to immediately file a nolle prosequi to end that case in court.

”We will want to take back the Assin North seat in 2024 and so continuing with that case in court will not be a good decision for our political fortunes in Assin North.

”What will the people say when we prosecute the MP and go back to Assin North for elections? Clearly, that will dent our image and the people will be mad at us by saying that we did not allow their elected representative to work for them even when he, Quayson had won again in the by-election” he added.

According to Mr Ayikoi Otoo, if he was the Attorney General, he would have proposed to the government and his party to abort the case to save the party and to have a goodwill from the people of Assin North in the 2024 general elections.

”We all know, per the ruling of the Supreme Court, that at the time James Gyakye Quayson picked up his nomination form, he did not have his certificate to show that he had renounced his Canadian citizenship. But he subsequently received it before his election and that as we speak, he has that certificate that qualified him to contest in the by-election which he again won”.

The former Attorney General, who served as Ghana’s High Commissioner to Canada under the first tenure of the Akufo-Addo administration, urged the current Attorney General, to consider the call by Dormaahene and present it to the President and the party to see the need to file a nolle prosequi to discontinue that trial pending before the Accra High Court.

”I know the Attorney General may not have the exclusive right though he has the power under our constitution to discontinue any case in court, he should present this to cabinet for them to know the need to put the interest of our party first and abort the case.

According to the former Attorney General, there are records of several cases that previous and current Attorney Generals have filed a nolle prosequi to discontinue in court and so this will not be an exception and that the Attorney General will not be under any pressure to assign reasons to the public as to why his office took that decision since no reasons were given in all previous cases.