Minority criticises President for leaving the country
The Minority in Parliament has criticised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for travelling out of the country, leading to the swearing in of the Speaker of Parliament as acting President.
Prof. Mike Oquaye was sworn into office as the acting President last Saturday for the second time in six days.
Advertisement
That became necessary per the provisions of the Constitution because Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia is on medical leave in the United Kingdom.
President Akufo-Addo is in the Ethiopian capital, Addis-Ababa, for a meeting of the African Union (AU), from where he is expected to travel to South Africa to attend the funeral of the music icon, Hugh Masekela.
Speaking to JoyNews, however, the MP for South Dayi and member of the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament, Rockson Dafeamekpor, said the President could have sent high-ranking government officials to the AU meeting.
“…we [Minority] acknowledge that Hugh Masekela is a global icon, but given the situation of the Vice-President’s ill-health, we are of the view that the President could have detailed the Foreign Minister and other officials to the AU meeting and the funeral,” he stated.
“He ought not to jet off but remain at home to superintend over affairs of the state,” he added.
Meanwhile, both the Majority and the Minority in Parliament have agreed that the tradition of swearing in the Speaker when both the President and the Vice-President are out of the jurisdiction will need some review.
The NDC MP for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, has indicated that he is heading to the Supreme Court to seek a review of Article 60 (11) of the 1992 Constitution because, in his view, absence from Ghana cannot be interpreted as inability to perform presidential functions.
“I have given an indication to my lawyers to file the necessary processes for us to look at it again,” he told JoyNews.