UPDATE: President Akufo-Addo orders arrest of GFA Boss
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has ordered the arrest of President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Kwesi Nyantakyi, for ostensibly using his name to illegally obtain money by deception.
A Deputy Chief of Staff, Samuel Abu Jinapor, confirmed this to presidential correspondents in the Jubilee House.
According to Mr. Jinapor, the president directed that Mr. Nyantakyi should be arrested by the Criminal Investigative Department, (CID) after watching the latest exposé of ace investigative journalist Anas Ameyaw Anas.
“The President of the Republic has had the benefit of viewing aspects of the investigative piece and in this documentary, the President of the Ghana Football Association, Mr. Kwesi Nyantakyi is supposedly seen attempting to use the President’s name and that of the Vice President and other senior officials of government to induce supposed potential investors into our country to part with various sums of monies," Mr. Jinapor said.
Adding that President Akufo-Addo was not happy that Mr. Nyantakyi had used his name fraudulently.
"The footage indicated that Kwesi Nyantakyi used the name of the President to defraud some people, constituting defrauding by false pretences."
Jinapor added that the president decided after full consultations revealed that a prima facie case could be established for criminal investigations to be launched into the conduct of the President of the Ghana Football Association.
“Other accomplices that may exist and therefore the President has reported this matter to the legally sanctioned and mandated agencies of the state to commence investigations into this matter. We will entreat Ghanaians to be calm and allow the legally mandated security agencies to complete investigations. Anyone found culpable in this investigation will be made to face the full rigors of the law." He said.
Mr. Jinapor said the GFA boss was going to be picked to assist in investigation by the police and “then the next step will be taken”.
“The President is the custodian of the law and he is not bias. No matter who you are, once you are wrong, he will hand you over to the law." He said.
"He has demonstrated that his determination to fight corruption and crime is unquestionable" he stated.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nyantekyi is said to be out of the country and is expected back today, Wednesday, May 23, 2018.
Kwesi Nyantakyi became the President of the GFA in December 2005 after defeating two other candidates, Ade Coker and Kojo Bonsu.
He is regarded as the most successful GFA boss since the days of Ohene Djan and H.P Nyemitei.
Under his presidency, Ghana qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first for the country.
Ghana again qualified for the subsequent 2010 FIFA World Cup, in South Africa, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The Ghana U-20 football team also won Africa's first and only U-20 World Cup also during his stewardship in 2009.
On the downside, he and other officials had been accused of match-fixing by an undercover investigation led by The Telegraph and Channel 4.
Kwesi Nyantakyi denied agreeing match fixing allegations by saying that "the report of the newspaper or the media house is entirely not accurate", because "there is really no cause for alarm as far as I am concerned because nothing untoward has happened involving me or the Federation".
Anas’ new documentary, despite not having been aired yet, has already captured widespread public attention.
Following his previous pieces which have predominantly been centered on corruption, the most recent of which involved some judges, public anticipation has been sky-high since he announced that his new video would turn the spotlight on one of the most polarising activities our country, football.
A number of people have leveled allegations of corruption against Nyantakyi’s administration, however, not many of these claims have been pursued.
The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide Newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako said the exposé was going to be “an explosive mix.”
Kweku Baako was speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana when the matter of Anas’ next documentary exposé came up for discussion.
Anas has begun promoting the new investigative film simply titled ‘Number 12′.
The details of the documentary’s release have emerged on fliers and billboards, indicating it will be premiered in Accra on June 6, 2018, at the Accra International Conference Centre.
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