Group petitions IGP, CID to investigate Afenyo Markin leaked tape
A group calling itself the Media Consult Group has waded into the Agricultural Development Bank’s IPO saga, calling for the IGP and the Criminal Investigations Department, to investigate the leaked tape implicating Alexander Afenyo Markin, the MP for Effutu, in a bribery scandal.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra, late Wednesday morning, the pro-NDC group said it was set to petition the Inspector General of Police and the Criminal Investigations Department during the day, to determine the authenticity of the tape and to investigate Afenyo Markin.
The Member of Parliament for Effutu is one of a few parties who challenged the legality of efforts by the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to make an Initial Public Offer (IPO) that would enable its listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange and floating of shares.
Afenyo Markin was reported to have filed a suit at the Supreme Court seeking interpretation to the bank’s decision to float shares without the approval of parliament.
In a voice recording leaked in the wake of the MP’s suit, a voice believed to be his is heard in the recording plotting to do “gymnastics” in court – presenting a weak case in court against the ADB’s IPO – for a bribe from parties.
The Media Consult Group noted it appears the MP’s motive for dragging the bank to court was not to ensure propriety and accountability, and the allegations against him need to be investigated.
The bank’s attempts to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange have been put on hold for about three times.
Concerning the validity of the leaked tape, spokesperson for the group Alfred Triddles, lamented the phenomenon where people make unfortunate statements behind closed doors and later claim that the voice on tape has been doctored.
“It is about time we put Ghana first. Everybody who knows Afenyo Markins will attest to the fact that it is Afenyo Markins’s voice,” he said.
Another member of the group Nii Kotey Ashie conceded that the group cannot confirm the authenticity of the tape and is hence calling on the mandated bodies to do so and initiate investigations into the matter.
By Emmanuel Odonkor