The Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has dismissed suggestions for a new constitutional instrument to replace Article 146, which governs the procedure for removing a Chief Justice.
Speaking in an interview with Citi FM, Mr. Dafeamekpor described such proposals as “illogical,” stressing that no instrument can override an entrenched constitutional provision.
“No process can succeed because any instrument, whether a legislative or constitutional instrument, that will amplify the procedure under 146 cannot vary, deviate, or depart from what is already captured in concrete under 146. The clamour for an instrument that will depart from what the constitution provides is an illogical reasoning because the instrument will be a derivative of what the constitution provides. It can only mirror and give flesh to what the constitution stipulates, it cannot depart from it,” he argued.
He, however, admitted that supplementary rules could be introduced to enhance the existing process without altering its core.
“You can only add flesh to it, for instance, when they say prima facie determination must be made, pursuant to the decision in the Agyei Twum versus Attorney-General case, then maybe a timeline would be provided. But you can’t say that a prima facie determination can’t take place,” he clarified.
His comments come amid renewed public debate after President John Dramani Mahama, acting under Article 146, removed Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo. The decision has fueled calls for reforms to tighten the process, with critics arguing that the current framework appears more flexible compared to procedures for removing the heads of the other two arms of government.
Source: Adomonline
