The visit was aimed at formally congratulating him on his appointment and strengthening relations between the Authority and the traditional leadership of the region.

The delegation was led by the President of the Oti Regional House of Chiefs, Nana Soglo Alloh IV, and included the Vice President, Nana Obunbo Sewura; a member of the House, Nana Akoto Masakyi; and the Legal Counsel of the House, Mr. Kwadwo Addeah-Safo.

During the meeting, the chiefs discussed matters of mutual interest, particularly development and energy-related issues affecting the Oti Region.

Nana Soglo Alloh IV expressed appreciation to the NPA CEO for his consistent support to the region, both before and after assuming office.

“We are grateful for the assistance and concern you have shown to the Oti Region even before your appointment as CEO of the NPA, and we are confident that this support will continue,” he said.

He added that the House of Chiefs was ready to collaborate with the Authority to promote development and stability in the region.

In response, Mr. Tameklo thanked the delegation for the visit and the goodwill expressed, assuring them of his commitment to serving the nation with integrity and supporting initiatives that enhance energy access and socio-economic development in the Oti Region.

“My doors remain open to traditional leaders, and I look forward to working closely with you for the benefit of our people,” he stated.

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According to him, any potential move will have to follow constitutional provisions.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Mr. Tameklo responded to NDC National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketia’s recent call for Jean Mensa’s removal, acknowledging his strong views while highlighting legal boundaries.

“The views expressed by my National Chairman are views he has always expressed about the Commission. I remember vividly, my chair say, that Jean Mensa at IEA, had a lot of respect for her because she was basically the melting point for political parties. Subsequently, having become the commissioner, the conduct that she put up has never lived up to my national Chairman’s expectation both as General Secretary of our party and the national chairman.”

However, Mr Tameklo added that “what is important is that anybody, be it the commissioners, of whoever, their removal processes are not at the whims and caprices of politicians. It is the constitution. So ultimately, the threshold that the Constitution sets, if that threshold is met, that is it.”

Referencing the petition by policy think tank IMANI Africa seeking Mensa’s removal, Mr Tamakloe noted that “IMANI is a think tank that has established credibility. I’ve never seen a think tank with such internal diversity.”

“Ultimately, any decision must comply with the 1992 Constitution.”

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The announcement was made in a press release issued by the Presidency on Friday, January 17.

The NPA serves as the regulatory body overseeing Ghana’s petroleum industry, ensuring its operations align with international standards and contribute to national development.

Mr Edudzi Tamaklo, who is currently the Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), brings a wealth of experience to his new role.

Known for his legal acumen and commitment to public service, Mr Tamaklo’s appointment reflects President Mahama’s focus on strengthening leadership within key national institutions.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, January 18, Mr Tamaklo expressed his heartfelt gratitude to President Mahama for the opportunity to serve in this capacity.

He pledged to work diligently to justify the trust placed in him.

“I am deeply honoured by this appointment and will put my best foot forward to deliver on the confidence reposed in me,” he stated, assuring Ghanaians of his readiness to meet the demands of his new role.

The appointment has been warmly received by members of the NDC and stakeholders in the petroleum sector.

As he prepares to take office, there is optimism that his tenure will drive growth and innovation within Ghana’s vital petroleum industry.

In response to the Supreme Court’s recent 5-2 ruling deeming the Speaker of Parliament’s declaration unconstitutional, he raised questions about complaints that the Speaker did not file a defense.

Reflecting on the legal process leading to the ruling, Mr. Tameklo questioned the Attorney General’s initial arguments regarding the Speaker’s representation.

“If my memory serves me right, in the last hearing, the Attorney General sought to create the impression that Thaddeus Sory, the Speaker’s lawyer, lacked proper authority to represent the Speaker,” he told Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday.

He added that Mr. Dame even argued that, in constitutional cases, he himself should be the one defending the action.

“So if the Attorney General, by coincidence or otherwise, has been given what he wished for, why the complaint?” he asked, suggesting that Dame’s stance on the Speaker’s legal representation aligned with the outcome.

Mr. Tameklo elaborated that the Supreme Court, by interpreting the Constitution, was not bound by the arguments presented in written submissions.

“The fundamental question is, is the Supreme Court bound by the written arguments of the parties? The court has consistently stated that they are not bound by these arguments,” he stated.

He emphasized that the Supreme Court is mandated to uphold the Constitution, and while legal submissions serve to support this process, they do not dictate the court’s ultimate interpretation.

In Mr. Tameklo’s view, the Attorney General’s insistence on having authority in constitutional matters involving the Speaker appears to have influenced the proceedings.

“The Attorney General argued that the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) approval was required and questioned Mr. Sory’s standing to represent the Speaker. That was his position, so, in essence, he got his wish,” Mr. Tameklo noted, suggesting that any concerns Mr. Dame might raise about the Speaker’s failure to file a defense now seem misplaced.

The NDC lawyer pointed out that constitutional cases should prioritize substantive issues over procedural or representational disputes, especially in matters of national significance.

He stated that the ruling, regardless of differing opinions, stands as the court’s independent interpretation of the Constitution, aimed at maintaining democratic integrity.

“The Supreme Court’s role is to interpret the Constitution, not to be bound by party submissions. Our submissions only assist, not determine, the final ruling,” he said, reaffirming his respect for the judicial process.

The decision, he argued, reinforces the need for clarity on the roles and limits of both Parliament and the Executive to prevent similar conflicts in the future.

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This according to Godwin Edudzi Tameklo is because there was no accountability in the 7th parliament.

The legal practitioner said this on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Wednesday.

Mr Tameklo explained this shortfalls of the 7th Parliament has resulted in the current economic problem the country finds itself in

“I want to say this on record that the worst parliament we’ve gotten was presided over by Mike Ocquaye. No accountability. They just gave Akufo-Addo a blank cheque and they abused it,” he stated.

The life of Ghana’s 7th Parliament which started on the dawn of January 7, 2017, ended on January 6, 2021, to make way for the 8th Parliament the day after.

This 7th Parliament survived bribery and visa fraud scandals, 11 walkouts, the gunning down in cold blood of a member and death of another through illness, Covid-19 as well as a street clash between some members and armed men and women of the Ghana Police Service.

Source: Gertrude Otchere

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Listen to Edudzi in the audio above:

On Thursday, April 4, the Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo stated that the content of the letter from the AG for the request was cogent enough to warrant her granting of the request.

She said the AG had written that the matter was that of governance, adding that the court was going on Easter break, hence her approval to expedite the hearing.

But reacting to the matter on Joy FM’s Top Story on April 4, Mr Tamakloe said there was no correlation between expediting the hearing and the Easter break.

He argued that based on the 1992 constitution, the Supreme Court could not order Parliament to have a sitting, implying that even if a decision was reached, the court could do nothing.

“From the CJ, the CJ says we were going to the Easter break and so for that matter they needed the matter heard. We all do appreciate that once parliament is adjourned, the court cannot make an order directing Parliament to go and sit to consider the approval of the ministers.https://www.youtube.com/embed/bYMAKuTPY2g

“So, from when the court dismissed the injunction application it’s a week now. Has Parliament been recalled? No.

“If the decision was that because we were going on Easter break the court needed to expedite the decision on the issue of the ministerial appointment, what has been the effect?

“The process to get Parliament to sit when it adjourns is to get a certain number of MPs to do A, B, C,D and so the fact that we were going to Easter break and therefore there was a need for an expedited hearing, this explanation does not solve the problem as far as the letter or the statement from the NDC is concerned”he said.

Background

On March 27, the Supreme Court dismissed an application brought forth by South Dayi MP, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, contesting the approval of new ministerial and deputy ministerial nominees.

In a unanimous decision, a five-member panel of the court deemed the application frivolous and an abuse of the court process and dismissed same.

Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the applicant, had aimed to halt the vetting process in Parliament until his lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the President’s decision to reassign Ministers without Parliament’s involvement was resolved.

However, the Supreme Court concluded that the MP’s case lacked direct relevance to the nominees under consideration in Parliament, as it primarily pertained to reassigned ministers.

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According to him, the choice of words and the manner in which they were used implied that non-compliance with the directive could result in consequences.

Mr Tameklo’s comments follow a letter addressed to Parliament on Monday, March 18, and signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante.

In the letter, the Office of the President officially ‘warned’ Parliament to refrain from transmitting the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill, commonly referred to as the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, to President Akufo-Addo for his assent in light of two applications for an order of interlocutory injunction currently before the Supreme Court.

“In the circumstance, you are kindly requested to cease and deist from transmitting the bill to the President until the matters before the Supreme Court are resolved,” the statement read.

But speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on March 23, Mr Tameklo argued that this portion, among others, sounded like a threat.

“Is it not curious that where we have a President who is even a lawyer, one would expect a certain level of sobriety, a certain level of somber reflection, to take decisions that ultimately have an impact on our governance structure?

“Look at the tone of the letter – it is a threat. It is actually a threatening letter. The tone and language do not befit the office,” he asserted.

The NDC lawyer also questioned the authority by which the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, issues directives on behalf of the President.

Citing an example, he said Mr. Bediatuo Asante was the same person who signed the President’s directive instructing the then Attorney-General, Daniel Domelevo, to proceed on a compulsory leave.

This action, he argued, must be interpreted by the Supreme Court.

“On what authority is Mr Bediatuo Asante purporting to issue that letter? On what statutory or constitutional basis is he putting out that letter? It is becoming one too many, a process that I will describe as ‘misconduct’.

“The issue of Domelevo having to go… it is the same Bediatuo who purported to act on the instructions of the president and asked the man to proceed on leave. For the first time in many years, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to describe the conduct of the President, again conveyed by the same Bediatuo Asante, as unconstitutional,” he added.

On March 2, 2021, then Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo per the directive of the presidency in July 2020 took an accumulated leave.

The leave which was initially expected to last 123 working days was extended to 167 working days following Mr Domelevo’s letter to President Akufo-Addo, urging him to reconsider his directive.

Among other things, the Auditor-General claimed that the directive was a breach of the labour law and was unconstitutional.

Subsequently, on May 23, 2023, the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision described as unconstitutional the directive from the Presidency that asked former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo to proceed on leave.

The court also described as unconstitutional the President’s appointment of an Acting Auditor General while there was a substantive Auditor-General.

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While speaking at the NDC Lawyers Conference in Akosombo over the weekend, the 2024 NDC presidential candidate accused President Akufo-Addo of appointing members of his party to the bench to influence decisions in their favour.

He thus charged NDC lawyers to prepare themselves to take up positions on the bench to balance out its composition.

“Our lawyers, some of you must be prepared to go onto the bench, I know that some of you have very lucrative legal practices you will not want to leave and go onto the bench. But you can see what the current President has done; he appointed the largest number of judges onto the bench. More than 80 towards hundred and counting.

“He’s packed the court and we know that they’ve packed the court because they want to avoid accountability after they have left office. So, all manner of people who have been known to be partisan, to have been executives of their party who are in the legal profession have been leapfrogged onto the Superior courts and other places.”

But his comments have received some condemnation, with the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in particular calling him out.

The Public Relations Officer of the GBA, Saviour Kudze, has said Mr Mahama’s comment is inappropriate and not backed by evidence.

He said while there is nothing wrong with Mr Mahama advising a group of lawyers who have identified themselves as NDC lawyers to take up appointments on the bench, running down the same judiciary – an important institution that he seeks to superintend as a President in future is wrong.

But the NDC’s Director of Legal Affairs, Edudzi Tamakloe, who attended the NDC lawyers’ conference, disagrees with the critics of Mr Mahama.

Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme on Monday, September 4, the private legal practitioner justified why a group of lawyers have chosen to identify as NDC lawyers, saying no law bars them from doing so.

According to him, the NDC has different professional groups under an umbrella who use their expertise to push the party’s interest and agenda.

He said this third annual meeting of the lawyers, numbering about 150 focused on how best they could help the NDC secure victory in 2024.

“The NDC is not a proscribed criminal organization. Anybody is permitted to associate with it freely. In this country, per our laws, the only organization you cannot associate with freely is a criminal organization.”

The young respected lawyer insisted that Mr. Mahama’s comments were in order.

“This is one of the fairest and most objective comments I have heard. Many times in this country, there is so much hypocrisy and that’s what we worship. We don’t like the truth, and so when you speak the truth too much, you even become a dangerous person in the community. You are seen as dangerous not because you’ve stolen from anyone, but because you have spoken the truth that no one can speak.”

“And if you listened to John Mahama, he added that it is not going to be business as usual. Even in the Bible, God’s word says a false balance is an abomination. What we all need to know is that justice delivery emanates from the people; justice delivery is founded on strong public confidence” he added.

Mr Tamakloe referred to the time when the current National Security Minister, Kan Dapaah, told judges publicly to deal with perceptions of bias in their rulings which usually tilt in favour of the ruling government, to reinforce Mr. Mahama’s comments.

“So, if a particular perception is developing, anyone who loves our democracy ought to speak” he argued.

“With Mahama now, he’s not in to please anyone’s ego. He says we’ve gotten to a point where we need to have a balance; and if you don’t agree with him, he’s spoken his mind. He [Mahama] says we need to have a balance in the system because the result will take all of us down, but because he doesn’t want it that way; he’s making us alert now. People are quiet, we see the truth but we don’t speak about it and it is destroying the country.”

“John Dramani Mahama says he is been a president before; the brassiness, the impunity in this country. It creates an impression that some people have a certain immunity and so they do what they want. Some people are behaving like they will never be accountable in this country, and Mr. John Mahama is saying that it will never happen again” he noted.

Asked by the host of Ekosii Sen, O.B., whether Mr. Mahama’s endorsement of a repeat of the very thing he is condemning, was not at variance with his agenda of ‘Building the Ghana we want’, Edudzie Tamakloe retorted; “We strongly believe that building the Ghana we want is one that requires fairness, balance and objectivity.”

“And so we believe that the perception is rife out there, and one of the ways to kill that perception is a semblance that the system can be fair; a Ghana where any other Ghanaian will feel that he’s part of the conversation in this country” he added.

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