Ghana president sacks junior finance minister over alleged impropriety

ACCRA (Reuters) -Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has sacked Charles Adu Boahen, the minister of state for finance, the presidency said on Monday after allegations of impropriety were circulated by a well-known Ghanaian investigative journalist.

The president fired Adu Boahen after being made aware of allegations levelled against him in an expose, the presidency statement said, adding that Akufo-Addo had also referred the matter to the Special Prosecutor for further investigations.

Adu Boahen did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is also facing calls for dismissal from members of parliament who accuse him of corruption and economic mismanagement as the country faces its worst economic crisis in a generation.

The allegations against Adu Boahen did not appear to be related to those previously raised against Ofori-Atta.

Adu Boahen could be seen in a video posted online by journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who also circulated a lengthy email containing detailed allegations. Reuters has not verified the authenticity of the video or the content of the email.

Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia said in a statement the video showed Adu Boahen “apparently using my name, inter alia, to peddle influence and collect money from supposed investors”.

“I would like to state that if what the minister (Adu Boahen) is alleged to have said is accurately captured in the video, then his position as a minister of state is untenable. He should be dismissed summarily and investigated,” Bawumia said.

(Reporting by Christian Akorlie and Cooper Inveen; Writing by Estelle Shirbon and Nellie Peyton; Editing by James Macharia Chege)