The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has commended President Mahama for his intervention to request the suspension of a Bill to scrap the office.
The Private Member’s Bill submitted by Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament for Bawku Central and Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Member of Parliament for South Dayi sought to repeal the Office of Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 and had over its powers to the Attorney-General.
In a memorandum dated December 8, they contended that “…operational experience since the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor has revealed persistent challenges, including the duplication of constitutional prosecutorial functions of the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Attorney-General, institutional friction and jurisdictional overlap resulting in delays and inefficiencies.”
In its Half-Yearly Report for December 2025, the OSP praised the President for intervening in the matter, noting that it reaffirms the wisdom of creating the Office as an independent anti-corruption organization separate from the Attorney General.
“The Office highly commends the President – and the nation has His Excellency to thank – for the swift and decisive call for the withdrawal of the bill. The President’s action stamped firmly the well-considered collective wisdom stated in the first National Anti-Corruption Action Programme in the establishment of the Office as the gold standard independent anti-corruption agency separate from the Attorney General,” the report stated.
The report added that the halting of the Bill aligns with the “very obvious and practical consideration that the Attorney General, being a member of Cabinet and chief legal advisor to the Government is not well-suited to investigate and prosecute members of a government to which he belongs.”
