Awuni dares Fortiz officials to show their faces
Executive Director of the Centre for Freedom and Accuracy, Andrew Awuni, has challenged the management of Fortiz PE and Bank of Ghana to show up in court if they believe that processes that led to the sale of Merchant Bank was clean.
Advertisement
According to him, failure of the two to appear in court and the subsequent release of a statement by Fortiz PE that it had completed the acquisition of Merchant Bank was in bad faith.
Speaking on Accra-based Asempa FM, Mr Awuni said irrespective of the statement, which according to him could not be authentic; he would still proceed to the court to ensure that “nobody turns the nation into a jungle.”
Fortiz PE on Wednesday released a statement signed by its directors announcing the completion of its acquisition of Merchant Bank Ghana Limited notwithstanding the legal action against the Bank of Ghana (BoG) over the sale of the bank.
Reacting to the statement, Mr Awuni said he had not seen the said statement except for one published online.
He further questioned the authentication of the statement since it had no signature except for a sign off which read “Signed: Directors – Fortiz PE”.
“I have not seen the statement but I’ve seen something on the website but what I saw doesn’t look like an authenticated statement because for a press release, to make it official an identifiable officer of the institution will sign and also indicate the officer’s position in that particular institution. It authenticates the statement.
“If you release a statement and just say signed, directors, directors have names so for authentication purposes…I don’t know whether it is deliberate or an oversight. So I am taking this whole statement with a pinch of salt and that is what everybody should do,” he said.
Mr Awuni further noted that the manner with which the statement was released “is very much in character with the way the transaction was carried out.”
“There is no point if Fortiz is taking over. I’m sure they have people who are taking over and they have names. Be as it may, it makes no difference to us. Everything about this transaction has been rushed and it is on record that people were rushed to sign documents. So it is very much in character,” he added.
Mr Awuni noted that it would have been appropriate for Fortiz to complete its takeover of the bank after all doubts concerning the transaction had been cleared.
“We are in court and we have filed for an injunction, notices have been served, there is evidence that these people have been served with the notice…It’s only reasonable that in the midst of the storm that people who are above board and everything is clean will actually want the dust to settle and show to Ghanaians that everything is clean, then you can sign.
“But if in the midst of the storm… in the middle of a court case, you are holding a notice of injunction and a hot Wednesday afternoon you announce that you have taken over, you have completed the deal, I think it’s in bad faith,” he said.
That notwithstanding, Mr Awuni said he is not disappointed with the turn of events but would continue with the legal action.
“Tomorrow we are returning to the court and they will respond to the court why they did what they did. It may be lawful but it’s morally not sound.
We will go to court tomorrow, we will continue with the case and they have questions to answer…it really tells me that something is wrong,” he noted.
Asked if he was fighting a lost battle, Mr Awuni said, “Perhaps if we were in a jungle I would say that. If some people want to turn the nation into a jungle then perhaps weaker vessels will say that they are fighting a losing battle. But I don’t think this is a jungle and nobody will be allowed to turn this nation into a jungle.”
He further challenged the management of Merchant Bank and Fortiz PE to “come out and stand in the light” if they believe their actions are right.