Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Organiser Sammy Awuku has questioned the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Dennis 'Miracles' Aboagye, arguing that the alleged payment linked to him is separate from the GHS55 million case cited by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

Speaking on UTV, Mr Awuku said the issue involving Mr Aboagye stemmed from an Auditor-General's audit infraction concerning a payment of about half a million cedis.

"There was an audit infraction. Mind you, the Auditor-General had finished their job. Then they flagged a questionable payment that was made - GHS540,000 or so," he said.

According to Mr Awuku, this is the amount former Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD) accountant Gerald Appiah has begun refunding, and not the GHS55 million referred to by EOCO.

"This is the one they claim Gerald Appiah, the former accountant at IMCCoD, has started paying. It is not the GHS55 million one," he said.

Mr Awuku said he was certain of this because he had spoken to Mr Appiah's lawyers on Monday, 13 July. He urged caution in discussing the case and questioned whether EOCO was attempting to associate Mr Appiah's matter with the allegations involving Mr Aboagye.

According to him, Mr Appiah's lawyers said their client had "clearly and consistently" maintained during questioning that the money he was refunding had nothing to do with Mr Aboagye.

He added that the refund process had reached the point where only GHS70,000 remained outstanding after the Auditor-General imposed a surcharge on Mr Appiah.

Mr Awuku said Mr Appiah had been granted a three-month payment plan to settle the remaining amount.

He stressed that he was not declaring Mr Aboagye guilty or innocent but suspected political motives in the manner in which his arrest and detention were carried out.

Mr Awuku noted that before travelling, Mr Aboagye had appeared on Joy News' Newsfile programme, where he criticised the government's handling of illegal mining and commented on allegations that President John Dramani Mahama was seeking a third term, among other national issues.

He also questioned why Mr Aboagye was arrested despite his lawyers maintaining regular contact with EOCO.

Mr Awuku further warned political appointees serving under President Mahama to carry out their duties diligently.

"They have to cross every i and dot every t," he said, adding that "just as there is accountability today, there'll be accountability tomorrow".

He added that he was pleased NDC officials and government appointees were "worried" about the current political climate.