The Ghanaian government has called back Mohammed Ahmed, its High Commissioner to Nigeria, because of claims that he was involved in election fraud during a party primary in Ghana.
President John Mahama ordered the recall, and a presidential statement released on Saturday made the announcement.
The statement said that the instruction went into force right away, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was told to take out the appropriate diplomatic and administrative steps.
The PUNCH said that the judgment was linked to claims of vote-buying and voter inducement during the National Democratic Congress parliamentary primaries in the Ayawaso East Constituency.
Ahmed was also running for office in the primary election at the same time that he was Ghana’s ambassador to Nigeria.
Reports from the primary said that delegates were given things like TVs and meals, which opponents and observers called “inducements.” He has, however, continued to say that the gifts were meant to be nice and not to sway the vote.
The Presidency remarked, “The move was necessary to uphold the ethical standards expected of public officers and to avoid any perception of impropriety.”
The administration also said that they were worried about a probable violation of Ghana’s Code of Conduct for political appointees, which sets rules for how current officials can operate politically.
“The Ayawaso East primary was set up to choose the NDC’s candidate for a parliamentary by-election when the current member of parliament died.
The statement went on to say, “Ahmed won the contest by getting the most votes from the other candidates.”
The NDC has also said that it will look into claims of bribery and other problems that happened during the primary poll.
The party’s leaders said the investigation was meant to defend the fairness of the party’s internal democratic processes.
About the Author
