Former Minister of Information, Fatimatu Abubakar, has criticised the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) over what she describes as the unfair treatment of former appointees of the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) government who have been accused of corruption.
Speaking on a panel discussion on Movement TV on December 6, 2025, she argued that bail conditions for appointees facing corruption and related charges have now become excessively high, suggesting these measures are being used as punishment rather than a judicial requirement.
According to her, she has “lost hope” in the country because the legal fraternity has become politicized, especially in the handling of cases involving politically exposed persons.
Abubakar further claimed that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, under the NPP administration, could have sanctioned the entire leadership of the NDC Members of Parliament (MPs) over the alleged double salary scandal but chose to exercise restraint.
“When we were in government, there was the double salary scandal. They had more than fifteen MPs implicated and other issues. If we had taken action, by now almost the entire front bench of the Majority would have been in Nsawam. But the President didn’t want that. How do you wipe out the leadership of a whole political party in the name of double salary?” she questioned.
She added that despite the government’s restraint at the time, today’s bail conditions for political appointees are set as high as GH₵800,000, which she believes reflects political motivation rather than fairness.
“I have lost hope in Ghana because it is glaring that what is happening is politically motivated. I have heard the national chairman of the NDC listing all the top political appointments they will sack from the Chief Justice to the Electoral Commission,” she claimed.
The double salary issue first surfaced when reports emerged that about 48 Members of Parliament, who served as ministers under then former President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, had allegedly received double salaries.
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service subsequently opened investigations into the claims.
Earlier reports suggested that 25 MPs were invited by the CID for questioning, although further documentation indicated that nearly 48 former NDC appointees were involved with some allegedly admitting to receiving double payments.
The alleged conduct violates Section 124 (1) of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), which deals with stealing.
Data showed that several ministers took double salaries between 2012 and 2016, with some receiving double payments monthly throughout their tenure. Others did so for shorter periods due to reshuffles.
FLASHBACK: Ex-Ministers exposed in double pay scandal
However, the CID later clarified that investigations had not been suspended, contradicting claims by the then minority MPs who accused the CID of embarrassing them by publicly inviting them for questioning.
The development reportedly caused tension within the NDC. The then Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and MP for Nadowli/Kaleo, Alban Bagbin, took to Twitter in April 2018, expressing anger at what he suggested were internal leaks to the CID.
“If anybody thinks that leaking our names to the police CID thwarts our chances and advances their selfish claim to leadership in our party, then think again. Because when we go down, we go down together,” he tweeted at the time.
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