Akufo-Addo did not consult Parliament on the appointment of persons appointed by the Council of State – Alban Bagbin

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin said he had not received any communication from the president before the release of the 11 people appointed to the Council of State yesterday.

This, he said, constitutes a violation of Articles 89 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.

This follows the release of some names for Council of State appointments by the acting director of communications in the presidency on Monday issued a statement detailing the names of those appointed to the Council.

Names on the list include former Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, former Chief of the Defense Staff, General JB Danquah and former Inspector General of Police Nana Owusu Nsiah, among others.

But before the start of public affairs in the House on Tuesday, minority leader Haruna Iddrisu said the statement by the communications directorate was an aberration of the Constitution because no such consultation had been held with parliament. .

Citing subsection 89 (2) which states that “The Council of State shall be composed of a) persons appointed by the Speaker in consultation with Parliament”, the MP for Tamale South stressed that appointments of this nature are a shared responsibility. between the executive and legislative branches of government.

“… But Mr. President, no formal communication from the President, yet there is an announcement in the air. We cannot track these announcements.

“So, Mr President, the managers of the President should know that before addressing the media, you are officially notified. The purpose of this Assembly is to know the important decisions taken by the President so that the President can work with Parliament as an instrument of government, ”he said.

However, Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markins disagreed with his colleague on the other side.

He argued that the executive was not seeking to undermine the authority of parliament as implied by deputies from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The Member for Effutu further asked: “Does the consultation mean a formal letter to you?” [the Speaker] or a commitment? Given that in any event, the provision of the article also sets out the persons who can be appointed to the Council of State, ”he said.

After listening to the argument on the ground, Mr. Bagbin confirmed that indeed the president had not consulted him, as House leader, about the names that were published.

In this regard, he announced that a message would be conveyed to the President’s Office for the proper thing to be done.

“The President is not Parliament, if there has been such a practice, I will not follow a bad practice. The consultation is supposed to take place with the Parliament and you, chaired by the President, constitute the Parliament. So even if there is communication in any form, even verbal, I should pass it on to you.

“I have not received any communication from the President on this subject. Neither verbal nor written, formal or informal. The Minority Leader is therefore right to draw the attention of the House to this point, and I will ask that this be conveyed to the President’s office so that the right thing is done, ”he said.