The Council of State has responded to a petition filed by the leading opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) regarding their dissatisfaction following the appointment of Dr Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani as Members of the Electoral Commission (EC).
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, the council said its advice to the President on his recent appointment of the two members alleged to be party faithful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) cannot be reviewed.
According to the council, once it thoroughly assessed the nominees’ CVs and provided advice to the President, the process was deemed complete.
“The process of advising the president is that the president submits the names of intended persons accompanied by their particulars with a write-up or what is called Curriculum Vitae. The Council of States studies the said CVs to ascertain the suitability of the said individual.”
The statement further indicated, “When the council is satisfied that the individual’s names have the requisite qualifications, it approves the nomination. If the council is not satisfied with the qualifications, it declines to make a recommendation”.
Nana Otuo Siriboe II also established that, as rightly stated in paragraph eight of the third page of the letter, the President having sworn into office the two individuals, the Council of State has become functus officio in their appointment process. “It is therefore impossible to review the Council’s recommendations to the President”.
The Chairman stressed that they do not have the authority to review recommendations once they have been submitted to the President. As a result of this decision, it is impossible to revisit the approval process for Dr Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani.
NDC’s Petition
In a letter signed by the NDC Chairman, Johnson Aseidu Nketiah on Monday, April 17, made a claim that the two members sworn in by the President were deep-rooted members of the ruling NPP government and therefore cannot guarantee the neutrality and impartiality of the country’s electoral management body.
According to the letter, Dr. Peter Appiahene has been the patron of the NPP student wing at the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) since 2017. He was a member of the party’s National Research and Data Analysis Team.
Additionally, the article alleges that Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani is an activist for the NPP, and her family is deeply rooted in the organization.
The NDC party, therefore, called on the Council of State to withdraw its advice to the president. It also called on it not to be seen as complicit in the appointment of “these patently partisan individuals to the Electoral Commission. It also called on it to safeguard the council’s integrity as far as its role in our government structure.
 regarding their dissatisfaction following the appointment of Dr Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani as Members of the Electoral Commission (EC).){kind=link}