Woyome opens defense: I deserved GHC 51.2 million paid me
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Alfred Agbesi Woyome in his open defense in court on Monday explained that he deserved the GHC 51.2 million paid him as judgment debt by the state.
He said this at the Economic and Financial Division of the Accra High Court where the case is being heard.
The Attorney General (AG) and Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah Oppong, was in court to assist the state prosecutor in the case.
Also in court was the state prosecutor who has been handling the case, Mr. Matthew Amponsah and a team of lawyers from the AG’s Department.
In his open defense led by his lead counsel Lawyer Sarfo Boabeng, the accused, Mr. Woyome said the Kufuor administration endorsed the role he played during Ghana’s bid to host the CAN 2008 tournament.
According to him, Ghana won the bid at the time it was HIPC during which there was a restriction on developing countries using soft loans to fund sporting activities.
Mr. Woyome suggested the need to rebrand Ghana as a tourism destination by the Kufuor administration to prove to the Britain Wood institutions how the CAN 2008 tournament was going to be funded.
The accused claimed the Kufuor administration lauded his idea and gave him the opportunity to look for funds to facilitate projects leading to the CAN 2008 tournament.
As a close associate to the former Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Ghadaffi, Mr. Woyome disclosed how he succeeded in convincing the Libyan government to give Ghana crude oil through the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.
Mr. Woyome said he was in constant touch with the immediate past New Patriotic Party (NPP) General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie who was at that time Deputy Managing Director of the GNPC.
He also mentioned, Yaw Osaafo Maafo, the late Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, Alhaji Rashid Bawah, Magnus Rex Dankwah, a sports expert as some of the highly placed government officials he dealt with before, during and throughout the CAN 2008 tournament.
He concluded that the crucial role he played with other financial commitments in hosting the CAN 2008 tournament cannot be underestimated by any shred of doubt.
Mr. Woyome tendered in documents to validate some of the financial commitments he rendered to the state at that time.
Principal State Prosecutor, Matthew Amponsah raised two objections to the said documents and the presiding Judge His Lordship John Ajet Nassam overruled the objections.
The case has been adjourned to May 12 and as usual, Mr. Woyome’s family relations and sympathizers were there in solidarity.
By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah
ABOUT: Nana Kwesi Coomson
[email protected] An Entrepreneur, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Communications Executive and Philanthropist. Editor-in-Chief of www.233times.com. A Senior Journalist with Ghanaian Chronicle Newspaper. An alumnus of Adisadel College where he read General Arts. His first degree is in Bachelor of Arts - Political Science (major) and History (minor) from the University of Ghana. He holds MSc in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Energy with Public Relations (PR) from the Robert Gordon University in the United Kingdom. He is a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow who studied at Clark Atlanta University in USA on the Business and Entrepreneurship track.
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