SC Judges Nomination: Ayariga Raises Concerns about Constitutionality

The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Constituency, Mahama Ayariga has raised concerns about the nomination of more than nine Supreme Court judges by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo since his assumption of office.

Falling on Article 144 he challenged the move as ultra vires as he urged the Parliament’s Appointment Committee to halt the vetting of some nominees recently appointed by the country’s Commander-In-Chief of Armed Forces.

This concern was raised by the lawmaker as the Committee readied to begin the vetting of Justice Sophia Bernasko Essah and Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong on August 13, 2024.

“As we speak, we have 15 justices on the Supreme Court. We are told that one is retiring. We have 15 Justices on the Supreme Court. It means that we have nine plus the chief justice making 10 and an additional five making it 15. This letter states that two of the 15 are about to retire.

“The president is seeking to make early arrangements to make sure that there’s no vacuum when the two do retire…The legal issue that I’m raising before this committee, which should be captured in our report for discussion, is this, whereas the constitution in article 144 says the president shall appoint the justices, there’s nowhere in this constitution that the president is given the power to increase the number beyond the nine plus one,” he is quoted as saying by CNR.

He indicated this sin is not particular to just this present but previous ones as well.

This protest, interrupted the day’s activity for close to an hour.

In reaction, the Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh Dompreh indicated that the nominees must be allowed to pass through the vetting process for the ultimate decision by the entire House afterwards.

“I only want to appeal to members. Vetting a nominee does not make it conclusive. We still have to consider the report of this committee at plenty for a decision to be taken. Either to adopt it or otherwise.”