Accepting Public Office Means Being Ready to Account for State Funds — Tanko Computer Defends EOCO’s Arrest of Dennis Miracles Aboagye

Deputy Director of IT and Elections for the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Rashid Tanko, popularly known as Tanko Computer, has defended the Economic and Organised Crime Office’s (EOCO) arrest and ongoing investigation of former Executive Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD), Dennis Edward Miracles Aboagye

According to Mr Tanko, anyone who accepts public office must understand that they will one day be required to account for how they managed state resources.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ The Pulse, he argued that public officials cannot reject investigations into their stewardship after leaving office, stressing that accountability is a fundamental responsibility attached to the management of public funds.

“When you accept to work for the state, know that you are going to expend state resources. And there’s a day you’ll be called to account for it. If you don’t want to be investigated, then you don’t need to accept to work for the state,” he stated.

His comments come amid criticism from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) over EOCO’s arrest and detention of Mr Aboagye. While the NPP has maintained that it supports lawful investigations into allegations of wrongdoing, the party has questioned the manner in which the former government official was arrested and detained.

However, Mr Tanko dismissed those concerns, insisting that the investigation involves significant sums of public money that warrant scrutiny.

“We are talking about GH¢55 million. Is that small money? These are state funds. These are not personal funds,” he said.

He further challenged the NPP to identify any legal provision that EOCO allegedly violated in carrying out the arrest.

“They should point out which law has been breached. They should point out which aspect of our laws in Ghana has been breached in his arrest. Are they going to teach EOCO how they should conduct its activities? When they were in office, were they teaching EOCO how to conduct its activities?” he questioned.

Mr Tanko also accused the NPP of applying double standards, arguing that the party has not expressed similar concern for other former public officials facing investigations or prosecution.

He maintained that accountability should be applied fairly and consistently, regardless of political affiliation, emphasizing that every public office holder must be prepared to answer for their stewardship of state resources.