Ghanaians may never forgive you – Akufo-Addo and Ofori-Atta told

Former Chief Executive Officer of Cal Bank, Frank Adu Jnr, has strongly criticised former President Nana Akufo-Addo and his Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta for their controversial decision to include pensioners in Ghana’s domestic debt restructuring programme.

In an interview on JoyNews’ PM Express on Monday, June 30, 2025, Mr. Adu said that the move remains one of the darkest chapters in the country’s economic history and will leave a permanent scar on the legacies of the two former leaders.

“Why would you do that? Why would you go after pensioners’ money?” he asked, visibly emotional. “It’s one thing that people can never forgive Akufo-Addo and Ken Ofori-Atta for.”

Mr. Adu revealed that he personally suffered financial losses during the crisis and expressed deep disappointment in the leadership’s actions.

“Yes, I lost money. Well, pensioners picketed and the former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, came to picket with us, etc. I didn’t go to picket but my colleagues, pensioners, did. Some were working the technical details behind the scenes, and those who were vociferous out front there. But I lost money in the Eurobond,” he said.

For him, the pain goes beyond the loss of money — it was about betrayal of public trust.

“No, I will not [forgive them] because I saw them live large. And so why do you want to live large at the expense of my pension? It’s something that should not be trivialised at all. To have a Cabinet meeting and decide that in solving the country’s debt problems, we would include pensioners — that’s dark.”

Despite his personal relationship with Ken Ofori-Atta — whom he described as “kind of family” and someone he once shared a bed with during a visit to the U.S. — Mr. Adu did not hold back in his criticism.

Asked about Ofori-Atta’s overall performance as Finance Minister, he didn’t mince words:
“Disaster! Disastrous. Look, if it wasn’t disastrous, between him and the President, the people of Ghana wouldn’t have voted the way they voted in 2024.”

He noted that the election results spoke volumes about public dissatisfaction.

“It’s not me saying it — the verdict is captured in the results of the elections. It’s as simple as that. You do not run the economy where almost everybody is suffering and expect that the people will not object. And that’s what the voters of this country did last year.”

Looking back, Mr. Adu recalled how hopeful he was when Ofori-Atta was appointed to lead the Finance Ministry.

“I remember when he was appointed. I sent him a message, congratulating him and urging him to do the best he could for this country and leave a legacy. That’s what we all expected. We were all very hopeful. But subsequent events have betrayed that hope,” he said.

His remarks echo the sentiments of many Ghanaians who were deeply affected by the domestic debt exchange programme and the broader economic challenges that defined the Akufo-Addo administration’s final years in office.