Former Tamale Central MP Inusah Fuseini has alleged that Manhyia South MP and lawyer Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah took legal fees above the permissible limit in a transaction involving the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express, Mr Fuseini said SSNIT had loaned money to Equity Loans, which later owed the trust GHC14 million.
He said Mr Awuah represented both SSNIT and Equity Loans in negotiations over the debt and eventually reached a settlement for an amount lower than what was owed.
“It’s true that he was a lawyer. Yeah. It’s true. And that SSNIT had loaned money to Equity Loans, and that at a point this company owes SSNIT GHC14 million, and as a lawyer, he negotiated for both SSNIT and Equity,” he said.
Mr Fuseini said the fees Mr Awuah received were almost half of the amount recovered through the settlement.
“So, he negotiated for both SSNIT and Equity, and he recovered less than the amount that was at stake, and his fees are almost half of the amount that he recovered,” he said.
He further alleged that the fees exceeded the legally permissible limit.
“Yes, it’s true that he’s the senior partner. Yes, it’s true that he represented SSNIT. Yes, it’s true that he entered into a negotiated settlement of the issue. Yes, he received a lower sum in satisfaction of the larger sum. Yes, he took fees that were more than the legally allowable fee limits,” Mr Fuseini said.
He added that other transactions involving Mr Awuah were also under investigation.
“Yes, there were other transactions that occurred that are the subject matter of investigations,” he said.
