President John Dramani Mahama has appealed to former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to return to Ghana as the government pursues legal processes to secure his extradition.
Speaking during the Reset Tour and Citizens’ Engagement in the Volta Region on Friday, July 17, President Mahama urged him to return to Ghana, recalling his previous description of himself as a father responsible for his children.
He said that given Mr Ofori-Atta’s long service as Finance Minister, he should consider returning to face the issues surrounding him.
“You held the most sensitive position as finance minister and at the point when your own members of parliament, 80 of them signed an application that the president should remove you, you said something historic, you said you are like the father of children and that you can’t run away and leave your children,” he said.
President Mahama added: “So if we Ghanaians are your children, we are calling you, we are begging you, father come back, your children are calling you to come back.”
He questioned why anyone who believed they had done nothing wrong would leave the country rather than return to address the matter.
“If you are a man of principle and you believe you have done nothing wrong, I don’t see why you should flee your own country,” he said.
President Mahama also said the extradition process must follow the law and respect the rights of the person involved.
He explained that because extradition involves another jurisdiction, the process requires the submission of a formal request and a determination by a court in the country where the individual is located.
“Extradition or return of fugitives from justice, it’s a legal process and so you need to respect the rights of the person at the same time,” he said.
President Mahama said the Attorney General’s Department had already taken steps to begin the process, including filing the necessary application and providing additional documents requested.
“The Attorney General’s Department has done its best, it filed the application, there are some additional documents that were asked for that it is filing and eventually it will all go before an American judge to make a decision,” he said.
The former Finance Minister is currently outside Ghana, and authorities have initiated steps towards securing his return through the legal extradition process.
